#96 | JUNE 2022
THE ENLIGHTENED VOICE
THE EQUALITY ISSUE F RE E / L E A F M AGA Z I N E S . COM
}
VISITING UTOKIA’S GARDEN
CHILLIN’ WITH CHEECH
NIMBLE LATINEDISTRO OWNED DIVERSITY BUDNESSES
P. 30
P.44
P.52
P.62
BY DIANA THOMPSON
BY BOBBY BLACK
BY TOM BOWERS
BY MARY CARREON
INDEPENDENT CANNABIS JOURNALISM SINCE 2010
THE equality ISSUE
#96
[
JUNE 2022
issue
PATIENT OF THE MONTH
24
6
INTERVIEW WITH THE MOTIVATED OWNERS
june 2022
66 HAEJIN CHUN | BIG BAD WOLF INTERVIEW WITH THE ACCLAIMED CANNACHEF
76
CANNTHROPOLOGY JEWS AND CANNABIS
COURTESY
44
COURTESY
52 NIMBLE DISTRIBUTION
GRACE SAGER
CANNABIS COMEDY ICON CHEECH MARIN ZOOMS IN WITH THE LEAF’S BOBBY BLACK TO DISCUSS HIS LEGENDARY CAREER, HIS CANNABIS BRANDS, HIS LOVE OF CHICANO ART, AND THE NEW MUSEUM THAT BEARS HIS NAME.
FLETCHER WOLD
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
CHILLIN’WITH CHEECH
09 10 12 20 22 24 26 30 34 36 40 44 52 58 62 66 68 70 72 76 78
EDITOR’S NOTE NATIONAL NEWS OREGON LEAF BOWL SHOP REVIEW BUDTENDER Q&A PATIENT PROFILE STONER OWNER GROW TOUR HIGHLY LIKELY HEMP INDUSTRY STRAIN OF THE MONTH CHILLIN’ WITH CHEECH NIMBLE DISTRO DIVERSITY MSS OREGON PROFILE LATINE-OWNED BUDNESSES WOLF IN THE KITCHEN COOKING WITH CANNABIS EDIBLE OF THE MONTH CONCENTRATE OF THE MONTH CANNTHROPOLOGY STONEY BALONEY
AMANDA DAY
MANNY NEWMAN
THE equality ISSUE
58
FEATURE
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
8
FEATURE
62
mss oregon | CEO & founder Tahkiya, Mss Oregon, Klassic, and True in Yea Dat Clothing @yeadatclothingstore
june 2022
Diversify Portland & National Cannabis Diversity Awareness Convention
STORY by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA/OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by FLETCHER WOLD @FWOLD_PHOTOGRAPHY
E S TA B L I S H E D 2 0 1 0
T H E E N L I G H T E N E D VO I C E
N O RT H W E ST LEA F / O R EG O N LEA F / ALAS KA LEA F / M ARY LAN D LEA F / CAL I F O R N I A LEA F /
A B O U T T H E C OV E R For this month’s cover, we looked to Leaf Creative Director Daniel Berman to create an impactful image that could encapsulate everything we are feeling about equality in the Cannabis industry at this unique moment in time. Seattle-based Cannabis stylist Malina Lopez (@malinalopez) has collaborated with us on more than twodozen cover shoots, and really brought home this fun concept. Our thanks as well to House of Cultivar for supplying the fresh live Cannabis, and to our models @devon_manier, @yourflynessthrifts, @jessiesfitclub, @1208garcia and @malinalopez for their time and energy.
PHOTO by DANIEL BERMAN @BERMANPHOTOS WES ABNEY C E O & F O U N D E R wes@leafmagazines.com MIKE RICKER O P E R AT I N G PA R T N E R ricker@leafmagazines.com
TOM BOWERS C H I E F O P E R AT I N G O F F I C E R tom@leafmagazines.com
DANIEL BERMAN C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R daniel@leafmagazines.com AMANDA DAY STAT E C O N T E N T D I R E C T O R amanda@leafmagazines.com MAKANI NELSON STAT E S A L E S D I R E C T O R makani@leafmagazines.com (808) 754-4182 O’HARA SHIPE O N L I N E E D I T O R ohara@leafmagazines.com MEGHAN RIDLEY C O PY E D I T O R meghan@leafmagazines.com
CONTRIBUTORS
We are creators of targeted, independent Cannabis journalism. Please email us to discuss advertising in the next issue of Oregon Leaf. We do not sell stories or coverage. We can offer design services and guidance on promoting your company’s recreational, commercial or industrial Cannabis business, product or event within our magazine and on our website, leafmagazines.com. Email makani@leafmagazines.com to learn more about our range of affordable print and digital advertising options and to support Oregon Leaf, the state’s longest-running Cannabis magazine!
CONNECT WITH OREGON LEAF!
Exclusive Cannabis Journalism @OREGONLEAF
|
@OREGONLEAF
@NWLEAF
ISSUU.COM/NWLEAF
FREE ONLINE ARCHIVE
ABNEY
Editor’s Note Thanks for picking up the 3rd annual Equality Issue of the Leaf! My intention for this issue’s cover was to highlight the many hands of our Cannabis community, all brought together by the plant that has helped heal us. Special thanks to House of Cultivar in Seattle for providing the plants, Malina Lopez for her creative styling and approach to bring my idea to life, and to Daniel Berman for nailing the shot. This issue is an expression of our whole team, and our commitment to telling stories that can open eyes and help usher in a new era for humanity.
9
Sadly our country has a lot of healing to do in order to right the ravaging effects of the war on drugs. For the last century, Americans – especially minorities – have been systematically locked away, lost jobs or children, and been killed by police for using Cannabis and other drugs. While I go deeper into this history in my Endless War on Humanity piece (read it online at LeafMagazines.com), I bring it up here to illustrate my point in relation to this issue’s theme. In the eyes of the Government and Law Enforcement, anyone who chooses to use Cannabis or other drugs is considered a second class citizen. I think it’s high time we address that situation by considering the very foundation of America – the Declaration of Independence – which guarantees “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the IN TODAY’S pursuit of Happiness.” ‘FREE Is there any greater expression of humanity than using drugs to expand and explore new forms of consciousness, emotions, feelings and experiences? The human condition can be wonderful, painful, and utterly boring in our modern journey. Why is it still thought of as morally wrong to use drugs when happy hour and pharmaceuticals dominate the culture?
AMERICA,’ THOSE WHO USE DRUGS CAN STILL LOSE THEIR FREEDOM.
And is there no greater perversion of this statement in today’s context than the continued war on drugs? In today’s “free America,” those who use drugs lose their freedom. And to be clear, this isn’t about weed only. I’m with Dr. Carl Hart (look up his work) in that all drugs should be legal for recreational and/or medicinal use, with their abuse treated as a social and mental health issue, not a criminal one. We should celebrate our humanity without criminalizing our pursuit of happiness, whether with Cannabis, entheogenic plants like peyote or psilocybin mushrooms, or even with harder drugs. Treating those addicted to drugs like humans – giving them safe-use sites and social services instead of criminalizing addiction – has reduced drug use in parts of Europe. In America, the difference between a good drug and a bad drug is if a pharmaceutical company can profit from it while advertising on TV. For-profit pharmaceuticals have got to end and legalizing Cannabis is only the beginning … especially with the controlled-commercialized-taxed form of “legal” weed that we accept today. In conclusion (mainly because I’m out of space), when the most dangerous aspect of possessing a drug is being caught with it, nobody who chooses to use it is equal. Ending the war on drugs could be the greatest step toward all of us being equal, and begin the process by which we can heal as one country, together.
-Wes Abney june 2022
leafmagazines.com
BOBBY BLACK, DESIGN + FEATURES JOSHUA BOULET, ILLUSTRATION TOM BOWERS, FEATURES MARY CARREON, FEATURES HOLLY CRAWFORD, FEATURES AMANDA DAY, FEATURES + PHOTOS EARLY, PRODUCTION STEVE ELLIOTT, NATIONAL NEWS RYAN HERRON, FEATURES ALEXA JESSE, FEATURES MALINA LOPEZ, STYLING DAVE MCDOWELL, REVIEWS JEFF PORTERFIELD DESIGN JESSE RAMIREZ, DESIGN MIKE RICKER, FEATURES MEGHAN RIDLEY, EDITING MIKE ROSATI, PHOTOS ZACK RUSKIN, FEATURES RYAN SANETEL, PHOTOS DIANA THOMPSON, FEATURES + PHOTOS JAMIE VICTOR, DESIGN JERRY WHITING, FEATURES FLETCHER WOLD, PHOTOS
WES
N O RT H EAST LEA F
national news
WEST COAST
10
GLOBAL
NEWSOM WANTS TO REDUCE CALI POT TAXES
C
alifornia Governor Gavin Newsom on May 14 proposed a temporary tax cut for the state’s struggling legal Cannabis industry, reports KTLA. But the plan falls short of what’s needed to revive a struggling adult-use weed market, according to some marijuana business owners. Adult-use Cannabis sales began in California back in 2018. But hefty taxes approaching 50% in some areas burden the nascent industry. It doesn’t help that there’s also costly regulation and stiff competition from a thriving untaxed market. Industry analysts estimate the untaxed market to be at least twice the size of the legal one. Meanwhile, a glut of Cannabis from corporate-scale farms has sent wholesale prices into a tailspin and left some growers unable to make a profit. Industry leaders warned Democratic Gov. Newsom in December that the state’s adult-use industry was verging on collapse. They asked for expedited tax relief and a speedy expansion of retail outlets to survive. Photo by Gage Skidmore.
THAILAND GIVING AWAY 1 MILLION FREE CANNABIS PLANTS
T
he government of Thailand announced this week that it will give away 1 million free Cannabis plants for home cultivation. Thailand’s public health minister, who has spearheaded the nation’s weed decrim, made a Facebook post in May with the plans. Industry analysts say the moves could help lure more international visitors to Thailand and strengthen medical tourism (tourism accounted for as much as a fifth of Thailand’s pre-Covid economy). But foreign tourists should exercise extreme caution: current Thai law forbids the THE GOVERNMENT IS DISTRIBUTING THE non-medical use of highly PLANTS WHEN MOST potent marijuana. Tourists conLEGAL RESTRICTIONS victed of possessing the herb can ARE LIFTED JUNE 9. face a draconian 15 years in prison.
MIDWEST
POLITICS
MISSOURI ACTIVISTS TURN IN LEGALIZATION SIGNATURES
SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS AXE MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL
egal Missouri wants adult-use Cannabis legalized in the ShowMe State. They turned in more than 385,000 signatures to put the initiative on the ballot — more than double the amount needed (the group needed only 171,592 valid signatures to get the measure on the November election ballot). The proposed constitutional amendment would allow Missourians who are 21 and older to possess, consume, purchase and cultivate marijuana.
arduous seven-year struggle to pass a medical marijuana bill ended with a whimper last month in South Carolina. A Republican House leader ruled the proposal contains an unconstitutional tax increase. South Carolina’s medical Cannabis law would have been one of the most restrictive in the U.S. Only residents with medical conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, sickle cell, autism and PTSD would be able to access marijuana. Smoking weed would be illegal; patients would be instructed to use oil, salves, patches or vaporizers.
L
AN
WEIRD
WEED VENDING MACHINE EARNS MAN UP TO $2K A DAY
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
A
uthorities say a man was making up to $2,000 per day by running a marijuana vending machine outside his house. Marcellus Cornwell used it to sell marijuana and pills, according to a criminal complaint. The tip also alleged Cornwell had numerous firearms and was selling weed and guns to minors. ATF agents conducted surveillance at Cornwell’s home, twice buying “suspected marijuana” from the vending machine in February and March, according to the criminal complaint. AGENTS WITH THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES GOT A TIP THAT HE WAS OPERATING THE MACHINE BESIDE HIS HOUSE.
2
Arkansas groups are sponsoring legalization signature drives: Arkansas True Grass & Responsible Growth Arkansas.
june 2022
7
of every 10 Biden voters support national marijuana legalization.
18 83%
states have legalized the adult use of Cannabis.
of Texans support medical marijuana legalization, according to a new poll.
THE SOUTH
CANNABIS TESTING LAB COMES TO MISSISSIPPI
C
alifornia-based Steep Hill recently became the first Cannabis laboratory starting the ISO accreditation process in Mississippi. Steep Hill, one of the oldest medical marijuana testing companies, already has laboratories in nine states, Canada and Mexico. Construction of the new laboratory, Steep Hill Mississippi, was completed in mid-May as testing instruments and equipment arrived. The laboratory will test marijuana for THC levels and terpenes, along with pesticides, fungus and bacteria.
550
pounds of marijuana were seized in Utah on May 15, after troopers pulled over a tractor-trailer for expired registration.
$1.9m of marijuana was sold on the first day of legal adult-use sales in New Jersey.
STORIES by STEVE ELLIOTT, AUTHOR OF THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF MARIJUANA
POTLAND
FREE
Ar t
ORDER NOW
DELIVERY
@happyfishhead by
@newpotland
Portland’s #1 delivery dispensary
WWW.THEPOTLAND.CO
APRIL 30, 2022 | THE NORTH WAREHOUSE PORTLAND
rehashed
PACKING THE LEAF F BOWL L
For one magical day at the end of April,
there was only one place in the entire world where you could find a sea of heads lined up all the way down the street, waiting patiently for their chance to smoke blunts with a velociraptor. That place was the 2022 Oregon Leaf Bowl.
12 WELL OVER 1,000 Oregon Cannabis connoisseurs and devotees descended on Portland’s pot-friendly event space The North Warehouse for the inaugural event, launched by Leaf Magazines to celebrate the amazing artistry and bountiful beauty brought to life by the state’s weed warriors. It was an amazing time none of us will ever forget. Well, maybe some of us will – we were all pretty blazed.
leafmagazines.com
AIN’T NO PARTY LIKE A LEAF BOWL PARTY With the help of a small handful of non-competing sponsors, including presenting sponsor Weedmaps and bar sponsor Mammoth Labs, the Leaf Team assembled a crew of entertainers and attractions under one roof: aerialists and acrobats, glassblowers from the DFO family of artists, live painting from Calm, live music from Steel Beans (which features a guy who can impressively play guitar, sing and play a drum kit at the same time), frothy suds from Great Notion Brewing and munchies from MidCity Smashburger. It felt so amazing having so many of you there. It had been so long since many of us had seen each other anywhere other than on a Zoom call. It was kind of like a family reunion, without the bickering. And gathering everyone under the same proverbial roof showed us two things: One, goddamn we missed everyone. Two, Oregon sure as hell brings the fire.
june 2022
THE THRILL OF VICTORY, THE TASTINESS OF THE HEAT
and Hapy Kitchen each took home multiple awards in the Edibles categories, and Echo Electuary, Artifact Extracts, and Archive each took home multiple Concentrates awards.
One of the most amazing things about the competition was the quality and diversity on disREADY FOR A REMATCH play on the field of play. The outstanding work of the Oregon Cannabis community never ceases to It was truly an honor for the Leaf Magazines amaze all of us here at the Leaf, and the entries Team to put together this competition and to definitely had the same impact on the judges. throw one hell of an excuse for everyone to We were truly impressed with the absolute gather, smoke weed, let loose and reconnect. excellence evidenced among the more than 250 It was an experience we entries from 76 companies – plan to repeat annually impressed, but not surprised. After from here on out. If you’re a all, Oregon has been home to grower, or a hash maker or some of the best Cannabis in the an edibles producer – and world for a long time. you didn’t enter this year – we It goes to show that anyone hope you consider throwing who won accolades in our blind your hat in the ring next year. judging process absolutely, We won’t rest until we outdo without a doubt, deserves every ourselves on an annual basis. ounce of beautifully molded resin If you just love to smoke in their award. There were a few weed and you missed out, who not only earned one trophy, please keep your eyes open but proved their impeccable skill for announcements for the next by walking away with multiple. Oregon Leaf Bowl, which will Luvli dominated the Indoor be coming in Spring 2023. Flower category, taking home the “THERE WERE A Regardless of whether you winning trophy in four subcateFEW WHO NOT ONLY were walking home with an gories: Fuel/OG/Chem, Purps award or fumbling for an & Desserts, Exotic Fruit, and the EARNED ONE TROPHY, Uber after taking too many Open Category. High Noon BUT PROVED THEIR dabs with the dinosaur, one Cultivation nearly swept the thing is for certain – we were runner-up positions, taking home IMPECCABLE SKILL BY so thrilled to get to party with trophies in three categories: Fuel/ WALKING AWAY WITH you, and we can’t wait to see OG/Chem, Exotic Fruit, and the you next year. Open Category. Mellow Vibes MULTIPLE.”
THE ILLUSTRIOUS SPONSORS
For the complete list of entries and judges’ scores head over to our website at LeafMagazines.com Oregon Leaf Magazine Publisher Wes Abney, left, and Mike Ricker, right, congratulate PDX Organix for winning Best Pre-Roll.
Story continues on next page
STORY by TOM BOWERS @CANNABOMBTOM | PHOTOS by TYLER CAMERON @TERPCAM & SLY VEGAS @SLYVEGAS
rehashed
OREGON LEAF BOWL 2022 COVERAGE Continued from previous page
leafmagazines.com
14
june 2022
THE OUTSTANDING COMPETITORS 54 GREEN ACRES
GRATEFUL GREENERY
QUANTUM OREGON
ARCHIVE
GREEN BANDIT
RE UP FARMS
ARTIFACT EXTRACTS
GUD GARDENS
REAL EVE
ASTRAL
HAPY KITCHEN
REBEL ROOTS FARMS
AVITAS
HIGH HORSE
RIP CITY ROOTS
BA BOTANICALS
HIGH LATITUDE EXTRACTS
ROGUE RIVER FAMILY FARMS
BENSON ARBOR
HIGH NOON CULTIVATION
SILVER LEAF CANNABIS CO
BLUE AND YELLOW
HIGHER CULTURES
SIREN
BULL RUN CRAFT CANNABIS
IMPERIAL EXTRACTS
SLIM’S TOP SHELF
CANNABULL
KALI MA
SMOKIEZ EDIBLES
CANNASSENTIALS
KITES
STICKY TREES
CAPITAL CANNABIS
LEFT COAST STANDARD
SUMMARY GROWN
BALD PEAK
LOUIS VUCHRON
SUN GOD MEDICINALS
CHALICE FARMS
LUVLI
THE PLANT
CHOICE FARMS
MEDICINE FARMS
THE REFINERY BLENDS
COLD FRAME FARMS
MELLOW VIBES
THUNDER FARMS
DOGHOUSE
NELSON & CO ORGANICS
TREASURE VALLEYS FINEST
DR. JOLLY’S
NW BOTANICA
TRICHOME FARMS
EASTWOOD GARDENS
NW KIND
TRUECARE
ECHO ELECTUARY
OREGON ROOTS
VERDANT LEAF
ENTOURAGE CANNABIS
PANGAEA ORGANICS
VIVA X HIGHER CULTURES
EXTRACTIONEERING
PDX ORGANICS
WM RANCH
FARMER’S FRIEND EXTRACTS
PINTAIL
YAMBA JUNK
FIREFLY EXTRACTS
PRŪF CULITVAR
YAS QUEEN
GEEK FARMS
PUREFECTIONARY
GRASSE
QUANTUM ALCHEMY
For the complete list of entries and judges’ scores head over to our website at LeafMagazines.com Story continues on next page
STORY by TOM BOWERS @CANNABOMBTOM | PHOTOS by TYLER CAMERON @TERPCAM & SLY VEGAS @SLYVEGAS
rehashed
OREGON LEAF BOWL 2022 COVERAGE Continued from previous page
16
Publisher Wes Abney, left, with Chief Operating Officer Tom Bowers, Leaf Bowls Competition Director Bobby Black, and Partner Mike Ricker.
AND THE WINNER IS... leafmagazines.com
FLOWER BEST SUN-GROWN FUEL/OG/CHEM
WINNER: Green Bandit Black Lime Reserve RUNNER-UP: Left Coast Standard Biscotti
BEST SUN-GROWN OPEN CATEGORY
WINNER: WM Ranch Blue Cheese x Blue Gum RUNNER-UP: TrueCareMKOB x Jager
BEST SUN-GROWN PURPS & DESSERTS
WINNER: Green Bandit Cheese Head
BEST SUN-GROWN EXOTIC FRUIT
BEST INDOOR PURPS & DESSERTS
RUNNER-UP: Benson Arbor Sweets
RUNNER-UP: Siren Jokerz
WINNER: Left Coast Standard Runtz Killa BEST SUN-GROWN CITRUS & SAP
BEST INDOOR EXOTIC FRUIT
RUNNER-UP: Green Bandit Stg. Baker
RUNNER-UP: High Noon Cultivation Banana Runtz
WINNER: Benson Arbor Mimosa
WINNER: Luvli Designer Runtz
BEST INDOOR FUEL/OG/CHEM
BEST INDOOR CITRUS & SAP
RUNNER-UP: High Noon Cultivation Donny Burger
RUNNER-UP: PDX Organics Terply #18
WINNER: Luvli Leftovers #11
WINNER: Pintail SOCO
BEST INDOOR OPEN CATEGORY
BEST MIXED-LIGHT OR GREENHOUSE FUEL/OG/CHEM
RUNNER-UP: High Noon Cultivation Crystal Cookies
RUNNER-UP: Cannassentials Motorbreath
WINNER: Luvli Pressure
june 2022
WINNER: Luvli Tenacious
WINNER: Real Eve GMO
BEST MIXED-LIGHT OR GREENHOUSE OPEN CATEGORY
WINNER: Real Eve Georgia Pie
RUNNER-UP: Sticky Trees Big Block #6
BEST MIXED-LIGHT OR GREENHOUSE PURPS & DESSERTS
WINNER: Grateful Greenery Ice Cream Cake
RUNNER-UP: Capital Cannabis Driving Ms. Lazy
EDIBLES
CARTRIDGES
BEST BAKED GOOD
BEST ALTERNATIVE CANNABINOID CARTRIDGE WINNER: Farmer’s Friend Extracts CBN Pudding
WINNER: Hapy Kitchen Chocolate Supreme Hash Rosin Cookie RUNNER-UP: Hapy Kitchen Chocolate Brownie
BEST CANDY
WINNER: TIE-Nelson & Co Carefree Dark Chocolate & Mellow Vibes Chocolate Espresso Bar 100mg RUNNER-UP: Yamba Junk Blueberry Yamba Floss
BEST MIXED-LIGHT OR GREENHOUSE EXOTIC FRUIT
BEST TINCTURE/DRINKABLE
WINNER: Choice Farms Hood Candyz #4
WINNER: Farmer’s Friend Extracts Platinum GSC 1000mg
RUNNER-UP: Capital Cannabis Strawberry Pie
RUNNER-UP: Medicine Farms Lunar Elixir 3:2:1
BEST MIXED-LIGHT OR GREENHOUSE CITRUS & SAP
BEST GUMMY
WINNER: Cannassentials Tangies and Cream
BEST MIXED-LIGHT OR GREENHOUSE CBD RICH
WINNER: Bald Peak Strawberry Remedy #9 BEST LIGHT-DEP FUEL/OG/CHEM
WINNER: Benson Arbor Josh D OG
RUNNER-UP: Benson Arbor Road Dawg
BEST LIGHT-DEP OPEN CATEGORY
WINNER: Benson Arbor Where’s My Bike? BEST LIGHT-DEP PURPS & DESSERTS
WINNER: The Plant Wedding Cake
RUNNER-UP: The Plant Sherbacio 2.0
WINNER: Mellow Vibes Tropical Maui 100mg
RUNNER-UP: Mellow Vibes Mixed Berry 100mg
RUNNER-UP: Firefly Extracts HEMP CBD+CBN Cart w/ Special Terp Sauce
BEST CO2 CARTRIDGE
WINNER: Farmer’s Friend Extracts White Runtz BEST DISTILLATE CARTRIDGE
WINNER: High Latitude Extracts Purple Apricot
RUNNER-UP: Firefly Extracts GSC - Limited Reserve
BEST GENERAL HYDROCARBON CARTRIDGE
WINNER: Prūf Cultivar Tangie Biscotti
RUNNER-UP: Prūf Cultivar Peppermint Agave
BEST LIVE RESIN CARTRIDGE
WINNER: Artifact Extracts Zprite
RUNNER-UP: Artifact Extracts Punch Breath
BEST SOLVENTLESS CARTRIDGE
WINNER: Verdant Leaf Blueberry Muffins RUNNER-UP: Archive High-Chewz
TOPICALS BEST TOPICAL
WINNER: Medicine Farms Mellow Vibes
RUNNER-UP: Medicine Farms Phoenix Lotion
CONCENTRATES & EXTRACTS BEST FECO/RSO
WINNER: Rebel Roots Farms Sunset Sherbet RUNNER-UP: Quantum Alchemy T-1000
BEST PULL-N-SNAP/SHATTER
WINNER: Echo Electuary Papaya
RUNNER-UP: Echo Electuary Donny Burger
BEST DIAMONDS/SAUCE
WINNER: Artifact Extracts Roid Rage
RUNNER-UP: Artifact Extracts Punch Breath
BEST BUDDER/BADDER
WINNER: Echo Electuary Papaya
RUNNER-UP: Capital Cannabis Lavender Jones x Slymer
PRE-ROLLS BEST TRADITIONAL PRE-ROLL
WINNER: PDX Organics Terply Litsticks
RUNNER-UP: Eastwood Gardens Runtz x Horchata
BEST INFUSED PRE-ROLL
WINNER: Entourage Cannabis Otter Popz x Carnival Kush RUNNER-UP: Quantum Alchemy Wedding Cake x Banana Punch
BEST CRUMBLE/SUGAR
WINNER: Pangaea Organics Lemon Meringue (Slushy) RUNNER-UP: Entourage Cannabis Lemon Cookies
BEST SOLVENTLESS/FULL-MELT
WINNER: Archive Secret Lemons 90u
RUNNER-UP: Nelson & Co Chem De La Chem 120u
BEST SOLVENTLESS/ROSIN
WINNER: Archive High-Chewz
For the complete list of entries and judges’ scores head over to our website at LeafMagazines.com
RUNNER-UP: BA Botanicals Tropicana Cookies
STORY by TOM BOWERS @CANNABOMBTOM | PHOTOS by TYLER CAMERON @TERPCAM & SLY VEGAS @SLYVEGAS
june 2022
THE equality ISSUE
Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults 21 years of age and older. Keep out of the reach of children.
d an M W! NE Lim n i ar
Shine bright.
e r vo a l F
SHOP REVIEW
RELEAF
HEALTH Portland The Neighborhood’s Own
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
20
Nestled on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, just north of the major downtown bridges, is a dispensary breaking fresh ground and featuring deliveries. Walking past a sidewalk sign outside the store that read “Black Owned,” I was stoked to have exclusive access to ReLeaf just before opening.
The owner, Leona Thomas, did not originally want a dispensary. Leona started the business in 2017 with wholesale intentions, later choosing to go with a retail location. “We waited patiently, but not quietly,” she said. “Through a bunch of red tape, and a lot of run arounds … I felt like I was being dragged in circles by the city of Portland.” Having no investors, the company was started by Leona and her husband in a battle to break the stigma around Cannabis, not to mention she is one of only a couple African American female OLCC licensees. Although she was not an early user, both Leona and her husband have researched and educated themselves on the subject so far as to open a shop that has already seen success, which speaks volumes to their mentality towards our sacred plant. Rich, skunky herb can be smelled from outside the door, and once inside you’re greeted with a quaint but inviting environment. The selection of products are clearly visible thanks to natural lighting and easy to read signage. Weaving my nose through a couple strains, I could not help but feel a sort of comfort reminiscent of scoring weed from a good friend. “Our customers come in looking for that one item that will not only help them through their day, but also make it better,” says store manager Louie. “We not only serve the neighborhood, but we deliver it right to their door. People actually look forward to seeing us.”
june 2022
While the everyday customer purchases a handful of joints and a jar of flower, ReLeaf serves a wide variety of Cannabis consumers. Reaching the full spectrum of customers across the Portland metropolitan area, it is no wonder they had customers waiting for the doors to open. Having everything from premium hash to edibles, cartridges, smoking accessories and of course, a generous flower selection, Leona and her crew have put together a lineup that is always asked for and sells fresh. Although the store is closed Sunday and Monday, the delivery service still runs seven days a week – which some locals rely on. Let’s say you purchase flower online – your product will be delivered discreetly by an educated budtender/delivery driver, and your profile will be instantly created online – now giving you access to a host of deals and options like picking the same delivery budtender, or requesting a new one. “We work from Portland through the outskirts including Multnomah, Beaverton and Milwaukie,” says Louie. “As long as it’s before 5:00 p.m., customers have their goodies within an hour on average.” Thanks to Covid, many implementations have carried over through the pandemic – allowing customers to receive their product quicker and more efficiently – while still obeying state laws and regulations. After all the hard work and red tape, the team at ReLeaf is thrilled to be up and running supplying the greater Portland area with some of the state’s finest herb. Nowadays, the figurative dragging in circles by the city has been replaced with the literal driving of Cannabis all over the city.
Rich, skunky herb can be smelled from outside the door, and once inside you’re greeted with a quaint but inviting environment.
RELEAF HEALTH DISPENSARY 3213 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland releafhealth.green | @releafhealthcannabis__88 In Store: 11AM-7PM Tues-Fri | 11AM-5PM Sat Delivery: 11AM-6PM Mon-Sat | 11AM-4PM Sun
STORY & PHOTOS by RYAN SANETEL for OREGON LEAF
INTERVIEW
W H O ’ S Y O U R FAV O R I T E B U D T E N D E R ? T E L L U S W H Y ! E M A I L N O M I N AT I O N S T O R I C K E R @ L E A F M A G A Z I N E S . C O M
Oregon Leaf Budtender of the Month
DEVIN JONES
DEVIN JONES grew up in Eugene’s Cannabis culture and found his first job in the industry at SugarTop Buddery. Now, when he’s not practicing his comedy act or coaching youth basketball, you can find him behind the counter at Jamaica Joel’s. It’s Eugene’s locally-operated dispensary with an island twist. But the warm welcome you’ll receive when walking in isn’t tropical … it’s just the friendly service of this Budtender of the Month. Follow him @iamnotdevinjones
WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN EUGENE? Cannabis is just a part of the culture around here. From a young age, we’d go over to friends’ houses and it was just normal. Instead of mowing the lawn and taking out the trash, we were mixing nutrients, snapping clones, making concentrates and things like that. By the time I was of [legal] age, it was like second nature to me.
22
WHAT DO YOU FILL YOUR TIME OUTSIDE OF CANNABIS WITH? I’ve been dabbling in stand-up comedy recently, which is a passion of mine. I’ve been mostly practicing with Studio 541 Productions. Shea Hardy Baker has a really awesome studio set up in her backyard where we do workshops with other artists and get constructive criticism. I’m really just trying to fine-tune my sets and childappropriate material. I’m hoping to perform it at Juneteenth at Alton Baker [Park]!
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
WHAT KIND OF SUBJECT MATTER DOES YOUR COMEDY FOCUS ON? What I was raised around. I always say, ‘I’m half Black, half hippie,’ so I dabble in the juxtaposition that those two kinds of worlds bring. Growing up in Eugene has just always been such an interesting experience, especially for a Black person of color … You get a different perspective.
“CANNABIS IS JUST A PART OF THE CULTURE AROUND HERE.”
WHAT OBSTACLES HAVE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME DURING YOUR TIME IN THE EUGENE CANNABIS SCENE? I used to work for Elev8, the only Black-owned dispensary in town. My first week there was the Friday that the George Floyd protests broke out in Eugene. It was a really intense time to be a person of color in the Cannabis industry. To be in this movement, not only in my personal time but also at work, was and can [still] be straining. My homegirl Felicia (who also works here) is a big part of Women’s Leadership in Cannabis. We want to start trying to push forward some sort of Black persons in Cannabis coalition, where there are support groups and space for development or growth. We don’t see a lot of POC or women-owned businesses. I think ownership is really important and trying to figure out where those obstacles lie or what hurdles they have to get over is key. I definitely want to create that space and those opportunities for more advancement. WHAT STICKS OUT ON THE SHELF WHEN YOU’RE SHOPPING OR HELPING A CUSTOMER MAKE THE RIGHT SELECTION? Shout out to SugarTop Buddery, Drops and CannaBull. Certain companies just resonate a little bit more. I love the functionality of their products. I think that if you’re looking for medicine, that is some of the best on the market for what they do. JAMAICA JOEL’S | 37 W 13TH AVE #201, EUGENE, OR JAMAICAJOELS.COM | @_JAMAICAJOELS | 7AM-10PM DAILY
june 2022
INTERVIEW & PHOTOS by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA/OREGON LEAF
Multi-Generational Family Business since 1959 Home Grown in Portland, Oregon
CUSTOM PINS
Customize front & back of pin 503-676-3420 sales@higherpromos.com
Follow us on Instagram @higherpromos
Send your art for a quote
patient of the month
CANNABIS FOR A BETTER LIFE
mannynewman
MANNY NEWMAN was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy around the age of three. As a boy, he moved away from the Pacific Northwest to make a home in Hawaii and first made acquaintances with Mary Jane in high school. The relationship began as a mechanism for mental health management while living in foster care, but it soon became an outlet for pain relief as he added severe arthritis and congestive heart failure to his daily battles. Now, it’s taken on a new meaning as he works to pay off the “wheelchair of his dreams” with the help of his community and some unique, full-spectrum products. Follow him @grogimp
TELL US ABOUT YOUR HEMP-INFUSED SOAP COMPANY, BUD AND LATHER. The first batch of soap was just the Mother’s
Day gift for my mom and my wife. And that was around the time I had an order for a wheelchair … But the only wheelchair that Medicaid or the insurance companies would provide me wouldn’t even navigate the sidewalk. I’d sit in my house and I wouldn’t be able to use it much anyway. Honestly, I’ve been poor my whole life, but I’ve taken care of myself. I’m not really used to asking for donations and asking for handouts. It’s kind of hard for me to ask for any kind of help. So, I decided that if I have to pay for this wheelchair, then I’ll try selling soap. That way when people give money towards this cause, they get something in return.
HOW HAS THAT BEEN GOING? There were so many farmers and people here in the industry that chipped in here and there, like Nick at The Herbal Connection. He said, ‘I see what you’re doing and we have a check for you.’ He threw down like $1,000 on a wheelchair. Everything that we’ve been able to accomplish and achieve has all been from our local community, the Cannabis community helping us out: big orders, custom orders, small orders, people just ordering one or two bars at a time, and coming back as repeat customers or telling their friends. I’m just astounded by the amount of support and people cheering us on. I’m in awe of the collective power of the community. We started out as a wheelchair fundraiser and jumped through all the hoops to be fully legal, compliant and registered with the Department of Agriculture. Our next step is recyclable and sustainable packaging, as well as entering competitions. But also doing what we can to give back to the community that gave to us – definitely helping out, donating when we can and uplifting other causes.
24
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
IS INFUSED SOAP SOMETHING YOU USE IN YOUR DAILY PAIN MANAGEMENT ROUTINE? I found myself needing to smoke
a lot less since I started making the soap – just taking a hot shower every day and opening up my pores. That kind of helps me with the aches and pains and stuff. There was just something that kind of clicked when it came to making the soap. I didn’t really see anybody else doing exactly what I was doing, or the way that we were doing it.
WHAT MAKES THIS METHOD OF CANNABINOID DELIVERY STAND OUT TO YOU? I think that we’re retaining the bioavailability.
“i’m just astounded by the amount of support and people cheering us on. I’m in awe of the collective power of the community.” june 2022
We don’t rupture the lipid layer, so we retain all of the bioavailability and soap is a lipid compound. It’s an excellent carrier for cannabinoids. I think people lose a lot when they rupture the lipid layer and extract just the THC or the CBD. We’ve really got something here that I don’t see a lot of other people working with yet, but I think it’s going to be a big thing moving forward. I already see other soap makers making cheap knock-offs or cleverly wording their advertising to imply that they have a similar product.
BUDANDLATHER.COM | @BUDANDLATHER
INTERVIEW & PHOTOS by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA/OREGON LEAF
OVER 1 MILLION CLONES SOLD TO LICENSED CULTIVATORS IN CALIFORNIA AND OREGON! New customers get 10% oo your first order, mention ‘STORK’ when ordering!
CONNECT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE Advertising starting at $300 per month email makani@orleaf.com for details on including your brand & company in the July Concentrates Issue of Oregon Leaf!
OREGONLEAF OREGONLEAF MAGAZINE
#OREGONLEAF
stoner owner
JESCE HORTON
OWNER LOWD CANNABIS
26
leafmagazines.com
“We’re also proud of the work we do with organizations like NuProject based here in Portland. They are doing some of the leading work and encouraging business growth and development within historically excluded Black and Brown communities.” june 2022
We had the chance to chat with Jesce Horton of LOWD about what makes his flower so good, the scene in Amsterdam these days, and the initiatives his company has around supporting marginalized communities.
LOWD.COM | @THELOWD
What’s been good lately? What have you been smoking on? We’re getting ready to release our menu for the summer. So there are a number of different things that I’m smoking pretty heavily. Maple Bacon is really cool – it’s a combo of Cake Mints and Platinum Garlic Cookies. That’s probably the one I’m smoking on most right now. Recently you were posted up in Amsterdam. How would you compare the Oregon scene to the Amsterdam coffee shops? I would certainly say that Oregon has had much more progress as it relates to quality strains. Without a doubt. It’s been like that for a while. There are a lot of great strains in Amsterdam, but I don’t think they can really touch what’s happening on the West Coast and especially up here in Portland. Is there anything you get out there that’s hard to find in Oregon? Yeah, definitely. Here in Oregon, I think on the West Coast in general, Hazes aren’t as popular. So definitely, like the G13 Haze, Amnesia Haze, Super Silver Haze – those are things that you see over there pretty often, that you don’t see here quite as much. And good hashish that we don’t see much of in Oregon is something that I smoke all the time when I’m in Amsterdam. Do you think there would be a market for that kind of aged hash product here, even though everyone’s so obsessed with rosin? Yeah, I think so. It’s like taking us back to this artisan-style craft. I certainly think that there’s more space for water hash than what we’ve got currently. We hope so, because we’re coming out with an artisan hash line! We’re doing temple balls, aged three-to-six months. We’re also infusing some of that hash into our upcoming blue-tipped blunts and joints that we’ll be releasing this summer. What else are you doing right now to connect with the consumer who cares about top-tier flower? One thing we’re doing is a partnership with a delivery company, The Outlet. They’re going to be delivering flower directly out of our cure room to the customer. So they get Cannabis at this peak
“There are a lot of great strains in Amsterdam, but I don’t think they can really touch what’s happening on the West Coast and especially up here in Portland.” freshness as well, which is critical. We’re very specific when it comes to things like bud structure, intense smell, and the effect. I think those are the things that we’re going to try and focus on to bring something a bit differentiated to the market. How else are you connecting with the Cannabis community here in Portland? Producing great flower is number one. We’re also proud of the work we do with organizations like NuProject based here in Portland. They are doing some of the leading work and encouraging business growth and development within historically excluded Black and Brown communities. So we do everything we can in that regard, and working with organizations like NuProject has been an excellent fit for us.
You’re putting in all of this extra effort by not cutting any corners. Who do you hope your herb is connecting with? I hope it’s connecting to people like me, point-blank. People who consume Cannabis on an everyday basis. People who have a strong level of discernment when it comes to the selection of flower and what they’re smoking. You know, I think the pickiest smokers are the ones who want something that’s not available everywhere, and we’re always going to go to great lengths to provide that.
A Stoner Owner is a Cannabis business owner who has a relationship with the plant. We want to buy and smoke Cannabis from companies that care about their products, employees and the plant. You wouldn’t buy food from a restaurant where the cooks don’t eat in the kitchen, so why buy corporate weed grown by a company only concerned with profits? Stoner Owner approval means a company cares, and we love weed grown with care. Let’s retake our culture and reshape a stigma by honoring those who grow, process and sell the best Cannabis possible.
INTERVIEW by RYAN HERRON @THELOUD100 for OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by SAM GEHRKE (LEFT) & JESCE HORTON (ABOVE)
2021
roots f a l
g
u
o
ro
r
s
reb
rm
e
First Place BHO
e r r, ive
Best in Class RSO
rebel roots farms rogue river, or
For use only by adults 21 and older. Keep out of reach of children. Do not drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana.
MOUTH SMACK MOUTH PROUD MOUTH FREEDOM MOUTHTASTIC! ONE TASTE IStaste ALL IT TAKES taunt your tastes one is all it takes
then put something AMAZING in it
RETAILERS LeafLink
FOLLOW US
LEARN MORE @Purefectionery Purefectionery.com
Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the innuence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out reach of children.
WILD
NOTHING CAN PREPARE YOU choose INthe YOUR MOUTH speak your truth not HAPPINESS about taste in your mouth
Our Purefectionery Family of Products is Gay Owned and Operated. FOLLOW US @Purefectionery FOLLOW US LEARN MORE
Purefectionery.com @Purefectionery
Our goal is to make the best tasting edibles that make you smile. One taste is all it takes. LEARN MORE
RETAILERS
LeafLink RETAILERS LeafLink
Purefectionery.com
PREMIUM JOINT PACKS THAT GIVE BACK 50¢ OF EACH PACK GOES TOWARD CREATING EQUITY IN CANNABIS WITH NUPROJECT
SHOW PRIDE SHOP
POWERED BY OUR FARM PARTNERS distributed by
SCAN TO LEARN MORE
uto kia
THE ISSUE THE equality CULTURE grow ISSUE tour
30
CANBY, OR
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM leafmagazines.com
Co-owners Holly Hillyer, the company’s Master Herbalist, and Adam Teuscher, the Master of Coin.
june 2022
STORY by DIANA THOMPSON @DUDE.DIANA for OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by FLETCHER WOLD @FWOLD_PHOTOGRAPHY
>>
grow tour
32
utokia
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
Continued from previous page
Holly Hillyer is no stranger to getting her hands dirty and doing the work herself. Raised on an 8-acre farm in Vernonia, Ore., Holly attributes her magical green thumb and love for plants to her parents. The growing relationship between Holly and Cannabis started like many – with a medical card. After a horseriding accident left her with broken wrists, Holly was prescribed pharmaceutical painkillers to help with her recovery. And a tedious process it was: The pain was unbearable and she was tired of relying on the prescription, so she turned to what she knew – gardening. It took trial and error and numerous phone calls to her parents but at last, success. Her joy for tending to plants quickly flourished and it became her dream to do so full-time, but she was reluctant to pull the trigger right away and leave her desk job. Starting slow, six years later Holly has left her day job and is now happily living and working full-time
june 2022
on her 4-acre farm with her husband Adam, their goats and two dogs, Marley and Toki. Being a woman in the Cannabis industry can be intimidating, but Holly has made it clear to Oregon that her and her high quality bud isn’t going anywhere. How did you start working in Cannabis? After working my corporate job and sitting in a cubicle for years, I started thinking: Is this it? Am I just going to sit here until I am 65 or whatever and maybe retire? I knew I had to find a way to escape the rat race. I always loved growing, so I started off by testing out a couple plants in a grow tent in our spare room. After failing a few times, I slowly got better. Growing is challenging – Cannabis is a more challenging plant than I thought when I first started … there’s always something to learn and improve upon.
What year did you start Utokia? We started in medical in 2016 and got OLCC licensed in 2018. How did you come up with the Utokia brand? My husband and I are both gamers. When we are not working, we like playing games together. We noticed that no one was really speaking to us (gamers) in the industry, so we had this idea of melding our love for gaming and Cannabis together. This is where our idea for our limited-edition trading cards came from. This led to working with local artists to illustrate our trading cards, which has been so exciting. We get awesome art … and are able to directly support these talented artists.
What is the square footage of your farm? Utokia is tiny – our grow space is 725 square feet of bloom and 200 square feet of mother space. We grow in the same space we did during medical, but we’re able to keep our footprint low and are now growing with 100% renewable energy. We do sometimes wish we had more mother space. We used to only grow one to three strains at a time, but the market has changed and people are looking for more variety, so we’ve been introducing more strains to the mix. Average plants in your facility? 280 in the flower room. We grow about 150-180 pounds a year. What are daily operations like? It’s a juggling act for sure. The first thing every morning is jumping into a pair of scrubs and going out to check on the plants. Before I eat or even brush my hair, I’m out there making sure everything is in order. I still hand-water all of the mother and veg plants … there’s daily maintenance and compliance stuff, and then there’s the crazy ebbs and flows depending on the plant cycle, so it could be long days of harvesting, trimming, cloning, transplanting, supply runs. That’s just the plants. We have been building solid relationships with dispensaries, so it’s doing follow-ups, taking orders, deliveries, upgrading our displays. We’ve also put a lot of work into our brand, so writing all the copy for the cards, collaborating with designers on illustrations, bud photography and posting content.
dirty, sticky job that requires a lot of manual labor, lugging around soil, heavy CO2 tanks, washing pots and repairing irrigation. There is always something that breaks down in a grow operation. It’s important to keep in mind that only the female Cannabis plant produces those beautiful buds we all love – so the ladies should be celebrated! What should consumers look out for from Utokia? We just released our new pre-roll Adventure Packs. We wanted to do something fun and high quality. Pre-rolls have gotten a bad rap that they are usually old or low quality. We wanted to show this didn’t have to be true. Our pre-roll packs are made with 100% indoor bud (no shake or trim). Each pack has six beautiful joints, multiple strains and is fresh … no old bud here. Each also comes with a fun limited-edition collectible card that is illustrated by a local artist and gives a little backstory into the world of Utokia. They also come in a sustainable and durable tin package that’s perfect for keeping your joints fresh and safe on your next adventure! Best of all, the flower is grown with 100% renewable energy, so you can feel good about your purchase while you enjoy a smooth, flavorful smoke. We wanted to create something for people to get excited about and look forward to. Being the gamer nerds that we are, we developed these trading cards that are based on fictional characters that live in the world of Utokia, and have some practical information about the strain too. Each harvest we release new cards with our packs, so it’s an ever-expanding collection.
“It’s important to keep in mind that only the female Cannabis plant produces those beautiful buds we all love – so the ladies should be celebrated!”
What’s it like being a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry? I was shocked when I first started how few women, especially growers, there are. It was like when I first started gaming. I played World of Warcraft back in 2005 and was the only girl in our guild. That slowly changed and I’ve started to see a shift in the Cannabis space as well. But I understand why there may be fewer female growers in the space – being a Cannabis start-up takes being proficient in a lot of different skills, a lot of which are typically things you don’t see a lot of women doing, like electrical, irrigation and general contracting. After all, there are less than 10% of women who hold jobs in these trades. And it’s not glamorous work by any stretch of the imagination. I used to get my nails done, but now that’s completely wasted on me. It’s a
What’s next for Utokia? We just want to enjoy the ride. We don’t have these grandiose plans for expansion, although it’s not off the table. If we do, it will happen organically or with others that share our vision, because the one thing we refuse to do is compromise our quality and standards. We just hope people love our products enough that dispensaries are willing to keep working with us. We really hope people like what we are doing with the cards and want to continue building out the world of Utokia in fun and interesting ways. We have some plans to create an actual card game based on the characters we are developing, potentially some webcomics, and things that speak to the cannagamer.
shoutout strains JUICE BOX
(White Runtz x Gelato) has a dazzling display of rich purple and glistening trichomes.
PRINCESS SKUNK
(Cinderella 99 x Skunk #1) has a flavorful, sour-fruity gas aroma.
GORILLA SCOUT
(GG4 x Gelato) has skunky, roadkill smells that are reminiscent to when the winds pick up and blow across the landfill in the early morning sun.
FAERIE FIRE
is a yet to be released cultivar that the team is very excited about. UTOKIA.FARM @UTOKIAFARMS
STORY by DIANA THOMPSON @DUDE.DIANA for OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by FLETCHER WOLD @FWOLD_PHOTOGRAPHY
highly likely
PROFESSIONAL GOLFER
MATT EVERY
H i g h l y L i ke l y h i g h l i g h t s C a n n a b i s p i o n e e r s w h o h a v e p a v e d t h e w a y t o g r e a t e r h e r b a l a c c e p t a n c e.
OUTSIDE OF polo and other equestrian sports, golf could be considered one of the most elitist leisure activities in the Western world. The game is the stuff of country clubs and old money, and it is because of this that golf is considered to be a notoriously conservative sport – and perhaps why it is so shocking that a recent anonymous poll conducted by golf.com found that out of 52 professional golfers surveyed, nearly 60 percent of respondents said that the PGA Tour should allow players to use Cannabis (currently, it is illegal for tour players to partake). The survey also found that just about 30 percent of the top-ranked 125 players in the world regularly use CBD.
T
CREATIVE COMMONS
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
34
“THE PRO GOLFER HASN’T BEEN SHY ABOUT TALKING ABOUT HIS STRUGGLES WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND DEPRESSION – WHICH HE USES CANNABIS TO TREAT. june 2022
hose stats are what make the subject of this month’s Highly Likely column such a headscratching case study in the still-stigmatized world of Cannabis usage and professional sports. Matt Every is a professional golfer from Daytona Beach, Florida who has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and on the Nationwide Tour. While he likely wishes it weren’t the case, Every may be the first professional golfer to openly admit to Cannabis usage. And he’s received two different tour suspensions from the PGA as a result. He told the Guardian in 2020, “I don’t like being known for the marijuana stuff. It sucks for me because I feel like I’m an extremely genuine person, but face-to-face interaction doesn’t carry as much weight as a Google search or an Instagram page.” About a decade ago, Every was banned from the tour for 90 days for suspected possession of Cannabis. Then in 2019, he was handed another three-month ban for testing positive for THC, despite having a prescription as a medical patient. In the interview with the Guardian he went on to say, “First of all, I’ve never done it when playing golf on the PGA Tour … anyone who says you can get an advantage has never done it. You can throw depth perception out the window, feel, touch, awareness, everything. You’d have zero chance. It’s a lazy argument.” The pro golfer hasn’t been shy about talking about his struggles with mental health and depression
– which he uses Cannabis to treat. Golf is a notoriously mental game and if your head isn’t in the right place, it can be difficult to play your best. While Every hasn’t won any majors this season, he’s still out there playing professional golf. The sport is notoriously brutal when it comes to winning streaks (there are very few Tiger Woods in the world). But we’re rooting for Every to get hot again on the links. At this point in history, it doesn’t seem that the PGA is ready to recognize the benefits of this plant that we all love so much. CBD, however, does seem to be a different matter for the organization. While the Association did send a missive out to tour players warning them that because CBD is federally unregulated, its usage may result in a positive drug test, that hasn’t stopped many pro players from endorsing or investing in CBD brands. Even golf legends like Bubba Watson have endorsements with manufacturers. Because golf is played outdoors and is a social/athletic activity, it is seeing a resurgence in popularity during the time of COVID. One can only hope with more and more persons attracted to this once elitist sport, that the stigma around Cannabis and golf will slowly start to change. (Full disclosure: The author is an avid golfer and smokes Cannabis on the course, feeling that it does, indeed, improve their game.)
STORY by PACER STACKTRAIN for LEAF NATION
“Genuine Equality means not treating everyone the same, but attending equally to everyone’s different needs” – Terry Eagleton
*Reup Farms has no affiliations with Reup Wholesale or Reup Dispensary in Talent, OR
Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out reach of children.
EXPERT OPINION
HEMP INDUSTRY
chemically equivalent. Each has its own ratio of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. Wood is ground into small pieces in order to make paper. X percent of hemp can probably be added to wood in existing factories. On the other hand, cotton is spun or woven, so any hemp fibers need to work without new machines. Hemp is known for its long, strong fibers – if farmers grow tall plants, the resultant fibers could be blended without a whole new factory. The first question anyone in the textile or paper industry will ask is: “Yes, blends are great – but can you guarantee a steady supply of hemp once we commit to integrating it into our product line?” From a business point of view, this is a key question for farmers on the front end and existing manufacturers on the receiving end. Farmers and processors need to make long-term commitments to grow the industry together. The good news is that shifting away from cotton and wood is good for the planet (and possibly cheaper too), but the only way the hemp fiber market is going to grow is if farmers have customers. Nothing will spur them to grow more hemp than signed purchase agreements in-hand before they plant. I agree that what I’m saying is a classic chicken-and-egg conundrum. No big company is going to introduce a product line that will run out of materials once they start selling. The bulk of the hemp being grown today is for CBD extraction, not fiber. Hemp farmers need to plant fiber cultivars and lots of them, too. The only way the fiber industry can scale up profitably is if the farms are close to the manufacturing plants. I love small family What if hemp replaced farms, but my guess is WHILE BLENDS MAY NOT a fraction of cotton, wood that 50 acres of hemp BE AS SEXY AS 100% HEMP, or plastic? We all want is the smallest profitable EACH INDUSTRY LIKELY HAS to wear hemp jeans and harvest size. t-shirts. Can I interest you The marketplace will A SWEET SPOT WHERE A in clothing that is 20% or be the final arbitrator. HEMP BLEND WOULD REQUIRE Farmers who grow even 10% hemp fiber? ONLY MINOR RETOOLING OF Would you feed your lots of fiber will seek printer paper that was a out customers, just as EXISTING MANUFACTURING post-consumer recycled enlightened companies FACILITIES. paper and hemp fiber that want to use hemp blend? Building a deck or will look for suppliers. shed? What if you could buy plywood that wasn’t The rest of us need to be patient and from trees, but a mixture of hemp and wood? support the hemp industry in all of its forms While blends may not be as sexy as 100% and guises. And if that means blending hemp, each industry likely has a sweet spot where hemp into wood and paper and other a hemp blend would require only minor retooling existing materials, then so be it. After all, of existing manufacturing facilities. Hemp stems a little hemp here and there can make a may resemble wood at first glance, but they aren’t big difference.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ALL HEMP...
36
WE PHOTO BY ADOBE
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
Jerry Whiting
all love hemp and we want more of it in our day-to-day lives. Whether food or paper or clothing, we can’t get enough of it because the U.S. market is still very small and fragmented. I’m not suggesting we give up on hemp, but perhaps all of us – farmers, manufacturers and consumers alike – should think about the transition to a hemp-filled world. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not backing away from my vision of how hemp can be used for so many different things. Let’s be honest: We’re not going to wake up one morning to see hemp in everything we encounter. Or will we?
june 2022
EXCLUSIVE COLUMN by JERRY WHITING for LEAF NATION // LeBlancCNE.com/podcast
leafmagazines.com FEATURES SPECIALS NEWS PODCAST CULTURE REVIEWS LEAF PICKS
leafmagazines.com FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM
@NWLEAF @OREGRONLEAF @MARYLANDLEAF @CALIFORNIALEAFMAG @AKLEAFMAG @NORTHEASTLEAFMAG
THE equality ISSUE STRAIN OF THE MONTH leafmagazines.com
40
TAHITI LIME Joe and Gabe, owners of Cascadia and two of the small number of Latin American growers here in Oregon, primarily grow Cannabis destined for their preroll line. This leads them to select cultivars for flavor and effect, instead of focusing on vanity characteristics like bag appeal and THC percentage. When they get a winner like this Tahiti Lime on their hands, the A + buds make it onto a shelf near you, while the slightly smaller nugs are worked into their pre-roll line and sold all over the state. Rolled in a joint or loaded carefully in a jar, we’re happy with what we’ve been smoking on from Cascadia. Farmfresh flower is packed into their joints and if an exceptional cultivar crosses their trim bench, that herb might end up sold by the gram. This is nearly the exact opposite of how most pre-rolls are produced. Where the majority of these products are typically comprised of the packs that didn’t quite hit the quality standards to end up on the shelf, Cascadia flips the script. By setting high standards on the material that goes into their namesake pre-roll packs, they ensure the flower is going to be a hit before it ever hits the shelf. It’s a good thing these buds were selected to be set aside, as it would have been a shame for the finger-length buds to be broken down by anyone but the intended smoker. In the jar, the lime scents are front and center, while a deeper whiff reveals a bit of the bakery funk, less ovenwarmed bread and more toasty malt and developing sourdough. Twisting up a joint is a bouquet of bright citrus, lime leaf and overripe orange. Each pull showcases the lime daiquiri profile, sugary-sweet lime juice with funky potstill Jamaican rum. Altogether this is a pleasing but complex profile rarely found in citrus-heavy cultivars. The effect borders between feeling silly-stoned and a comforting euphoria. Instead of sinking into the couch for an extended period of time, expect light sedation and a mood shift toward the positive. With a relaxed but upbeat effect, we’ll be adding this to the stash for the foreseeable future. Like a vacation in a jar, you can catch the sort of blissed out feeling typically reserved for settling into a hammock on the beach or toasting a cocktail from the shore, while the captain readies your next voyage.
june 2022 june 2022
CULTIVATED BY CASCADIA PREMIUM CANNABIS G E N E T I C S BY AR C H I VE S E E D B ANK
TAHITI LIME, cultivated by Cascadia Premium Cannabis, is that rare combination of bright fruity flavors and doughy cookie scents – all balanced equally in a crowd-pleasing package. Built on a foundation of Moonbow and Lemon Lime by renowned breeder Fletcher of Archive Seed Bank, this expression represents both parents with a big citrus flavor matched with a funkforward profile. Not to mention, this expression packs quite the punch.
TWISTING UP A JOINT IS A BOUQUET OF BRIGHT CITRUS, LIME LEAF AND OVERRIPE ORANGE. CA S CA D I A P R E M I U M .CO M
STORY by RYAN HERRON @THELOUD100 for OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by DIANA THOMPSON @DUDE.DIANA
THE equality ISSUE
Potent. Tasty. Hella fun. Gummiez, the newest way to get Hellavated. Same hard hitting flavor explosion in an edible form.
Available in 4 flavors: Mango Dragon Water ‘yer Melon Strawberry Haze Raspberry Blitz
june 2022
hellavated.com
Lets fly. Higher.
All natural.
1:1
THCV TO THC
1:3
THCV TO THC
EDIBLES with
THE EQUALITY ISSUE leafmagazines.com
44
“I’m a flower guy, man. I like a pipe and flower. But I’m getting to like edibles more.” JUNE 2022
chillin’with
cheech
When it comes to icons of Cannabis culture, few are more universally recognized or revered as the legendary comedy duo of Cheech and Chong. From their humble beginnings as an improv act at a Vancouver strip club in the late 1960s, Richard “Cheech” Marin and Thomas Chong rose to counterculture stardom in the ‘70s and early ’80s with a string of gold and Grammy-winning comedy albums, followed by a series of hilarious films featuring characters that were laughable-yetlovable exaggerations of stoner stereotypes. Sadly, in 1985 – after nearly 20 years of entertaining audiences – the pair reached a creative impasse and decided to part ways.
As a solo artist, Marin transcended typecasting – appearing in dozens of films and television shows, including “Born in East L.A.” (which he wrote and directed) and the popular program “Nash Bridges,” as well as countless cameos and voiceover roles (including several animated Disney characters). Then in 2012, to the delight of their fans, Cheech and Chong announced that they were reuniting. They’ve since done several live comedy tours and an animated film together, and have launched their own Cannabis brands – further solidifying their status as reefer royalty. But Cheech isn’t just an icon in the worlds of Cannabis and entertainment … he’s also an icon in the Mexican-American community. Marin has dedicated much of his life to illuminating and elevating Chicano culture and has spent decades amassing one of the most impressive collections of Latino art in the world. Now, he’s sharing that collection with the world via a sensational new museum bearing his name that opens its doors in Riverside, Calif. later this month. One month before the grand opening, Cheech sat down for a conversation with Leaf’s own Bobby Black to discuss his career, his thoughts on legalization, and his lifelong passions for art and marijuana.
When did you first get turned on to marijuana? I was 19 and a
freshman in college. I came home one night and there was a party going on in my apartment. My roommate passed this cigarette thing to me and I said, ‘What’s this?’ He says, ‘Marijuana.’ … So I smoked it and passed it around, and by the time it came back, I was high. Everything was going slower, more mellow, and the music sounded better. From that day forward, I was like, ‘Oh, so what else have they been lying about?’ After moving to Canada in the late ‘60s to avoid the draft, you met Tommy and began doing improv shows together – eventually signing a record deal with Lou Adler and releasing a series of comedy albums. The most famous of these is probably “Big Bambu,” which looked like a huge pack of rolling papers and even came with a giant rolling paper inside. Whose idea was that? That was a guy named Craig Braun, who had this graphics company and made album packages. He also made the Rolling Stones album “Sticky Fingers” with the zipper. He came to Lou with the idea, and Lou went for it. “Big Bambu” went on to become the best-selling comedy album in history at the time. I’m guessing you guys must have smoked a joint rolled with that giant paper at some point? Numerous times! We’d be on the road, and kids would bring them to us and say, ‘We were saving this to smoke with you!’ Continues next page
INTERVIEW by BOBBY BLACK @BOBBYBLACK420/LEAF NATION
THE EQUALITY ISSUE
CHILLIN’ WITH CHEECH
Continued from previous page
Cheech and Chong in their early days (1970).
From albums, you soon transitioned into films – starting with 1978’s cult classic “Up In Smoke.” You went on to make six movies together, including “Nice Dreams” which featured an appearance by LSD guru Timothy Leary. What was he like, and did you guys trip out with him? Yeah, sure! [laughs] Timmy was one of our best friends. He was like a psychedelic Irish pub rabble-rouser. He was incredibly intelligent and the most fun guy you could ever meet. He knew a lot about astronomy, and he used to come over to our house and point out all the stars and the constellations to us. We spent a lot of time together.
46
What’s your favorite Cheech and Chong film, and why? Probably ‘Up in Smoke’ because it encompassed a lot of the bits we were doing before and it was a big hit worldwide, but also because it was our first movie. Your first movie is really special, like your first love. As you know, the word “marijuana” originated in Mexico as a slang term for Cannabis. Do you know much about how the word originated and was used? It was used to denigrate [Cannabis] and give it this Mexican hue so that the police could use that as an excuse to stop Mexicans. It was also used to denigrate jazz musicians and black guys – like only them and Mexicans smoke this shit.
leafmagazines.com
Well, yes … but that’s how Harry Anslinger and yellow journalists who had racist agendas used it against Mexicans. But it wasn’t a bad word among Mexicans, was it? No, no – it was a salve. They made salve out of marijuana. They boiled it down … just like you have CBD now. Mexicans were using it for all kinds of ailments – to rub on their skin and make it hurt less. So from the very beginning, it’s always been a medicine. There are some wokesters now who are claiming that the word “marijuana” itself is racist and that it shouldn’t be used anymore. As the world’s most famous and beloved Chicano pothead, how do you feel about the word marijuana? Do you think it’s negative and should be canceled? I don’t really subscribe to that argument. Marijuana, Cannabis … it doesn’t matter to me. The fact that it’s a Spanish word means more to me. So for me, it’s a totally positive word. Some states are trying to rectify the War on Drugs’ injustices against people of color via social equity programs. What’s your assessment of where things are in terms of social equity for Hispanics and Chicanos? I think it’s wide open right now. Anybody who cares to join, it seems, can … but it depends on what state you’re in and who controls that state. That’s the problem. So the big answer is to make it legal federally, and that wipes out a whole bunch of problems. We have to get it de-scheduled.
JUNE 2022
I mean, when you have 39 out of 50 states that have some form of legalized marijuana, whether it be medical or recreational, how is that not legal? You gotta legalize it. Are there any equity organizations you’ve been involved in supporting? I like the Last Prisoner Project. We’ve been supporting that a lot. Because there are some guys still in jail for having a joint, you know? It’s ridiculous. It was a way to suppress that community, and they’re still trying to. But there’s no segment of society now that marijuana doesn’t enter – it affects the whole country. In 2018, you launched your own Cannabis brand, Cheech’s Stash. How’s that been going? It’s going very well. We’ve got everybody in the family working on it. My daughter, who’s a graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, she handles all our graphics and social media. And my son is heavily involved in sales and … well, let’s call it ‘quality control.’ [laughs] But it’s hard to make a celebrity brand go because everybody has like “Elvis wine” or something, you know? If anybody has enough cred to put out a weed brand, it should be you. Well yeah, if it’s good … cause everybody’s gonna catch on real quick if it’s not. And so our motto is, ‘It will always be good.’ It may not always be the same, but no matter what strain it is, if it has our name on it, it will always be good. Have you ever grown your own weed? Were you any good at it? Yeah, but the less I did, the better it got. [laughs] A friend of mine who will go nameless – although his name is Jan Michael Vincent – he was an actor and a very good friend of mine. And one day he came to me and said, ‘Hey, I’m growing a bunch of plants here, and I’m gonna give you a couple.’ I said, ‘Oh, okay, great … where should I put ‘em?’ He told me, ‘Just put ‘em over there by those bushes.’ Then I went out on tour and when I came back, there were these Christmas trees that had grown through the bottom of the pot! They were huge, with giant colas on them, and it was like, ‘Holy shit, man!’ And this had just coincided with the advent of the Seal-a-Meal, so you could vacuum-seal all your food. I thought, ‘Should work for marijuana, too’ – so we vacuum-sealed all the biggest buds and we had great weed for a long time. You and Tommy are also launching a new Cannabis brand together now, right? Yeah, it’s called Cheech and Chong’s Cannabis Company. We still have our own separate lines, but there’s a lot of value in being together rather than apart, and there was a company that thought so and put the money behind it. The original intention was to open Cheech and Chong dispensaries, but that doesn’t seem like such a viable thing now because you don’t really need brick and mortar dispensaries in a lot of cases, and that’s a real big overhead. So we decided to just do our products, sell them to everybody and increase the presence of our brands.
ABOVE: the facade of The Cheech at dawn. LEFT: The yetuntitled 26-foot lenticular artwork by Einar & Jamex de la Torre, seen standing with Cheech Marin at its base during installation on April 26, 2022. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE RIVERSIDE ART MUSEUM
“there’s no segment of society now that marijuana doesn’t enter – it affects the whole country.”
Continues next page
INTERVIEW by BOBBY BLACK @BOBBYBLACK420/LEAF NATION
THE equality ISSUE leafmagazines.com
48
“I just get happy on weed.”
june 2022
CHILLIN’ WITH CHEECH
Continued from previous page
Do you still get high pretty often? Define pretty often … like every minute? [laughs] Well, maybe not every minute, but every day – sometimes all day. I just get happy on weed. What’s your preferred method? I’m a flower guy, man. I like a pipe and flower. But I’m getting to like edibles more. What about dabs, do you like dabs? Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do – very much. How I got introduced to it is that I had to have my second knee replacement about a year or two ago. For the first one, I was prescribed these opioids to ease the pain and the rehabilitation. That was a long journey – I got kind of hooked on them, and at the end, it wasn’t working no matter how many I took. It got very depressing because the pain was still there, and nothing I was doing was helping. Then, after six months, one day it just stopped. I waited 10 years before the next operation because I didn’t want to go through that again. And that’s when I found dabs. A buddy of mine introduced me to dabs, she said, ‘This will help ease that pain.’ So I did it, and it was unbelievable. I mean, you got high, but it was a body high – it kind of invaded your whole body and took the edge off the pain. And then the rehabilitation was just two months and I was ready to go – I could walk, run, do anything. How would you compare the classic strains from the ‘70s to modern weed? Well, the new weed doesn’t pop your eye out if a seed explodes. [laughs] You always had to watch for that, man. You know, ‘Pop! Oh, geez – it almost got me!’ Because it was Mexican weed, and they just chopped it down and bundled it up. Let’s shift away from Cannabis and talk about your other great passion – art. Tell us how that incredible collection of yours came about. Well, I was always interested in art from a very early age because I had this group of Chicano cousins who were very bright, and they started assigning us topics to go out and find out about – and I got assigned art. So I went to the library and took out all the art books and was like, ‘Oh – that’s what Picasso looks like, that’s what Michelangelo and DaVinci and Miro look like.’ And that’s how I learned about art. From that day forward, I used to go to museums a lot because you have to see paintings in person to get the full value. So when I had enough money all of a sudden, with the success of Cheech and Chong, I could actually afford to buy art. That’s when I discovered the Chicano painters. I said, ‘Whoa – I see what these guys’ influences are; they’re all international art and Mexican culture and their neighborhoods, and wow – how come they’re not being shown? Why aren’t they getting shelf space in museums and galleries?’ So I said, ‘OK, well, I’m gonna start collecting this ABOVE: Artwork by Frank Romero art’ – because all the masterpieces of Chicano art were basically still in Cheech’s out there for purchase. So I was the right guy at the right place at the personal art right time. collection. And now, that collection is serving as the foundation of a new museum in Riverside that’s opening this month called The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture. Or, as the intimates like to call it, ‘The Cheech.’ This has obviously been in the works for a long time, so I bet you’re very excited about it. Tell us how it all came together. I’m so excited, I can’t tell you! I was doing a show with part of the collection at the Riverside museum there, and it was the biggest show they ever had attendance-wise. It was unbelievable. And so they had this beautiful mid-century building, which was the town library, but they were gonna build a new library down the street and they had to repurpose the building. So the town manager saw the show and came up with this big idea: He said, ‘Why don’t we give the building to Cheech, and he’ll house the collection there.’ I said, ‘OK – sounds good to me!’ That was five years ago. It got delayed due to Covid, but now on June 18 the museum is finally going to open, and it’s spectacular. I mean, I’ve been in a lot of museums in my life, and this one is really spectacular.
So, what can attendees expect on opening day? Is there going to be a big party? Oh yeah — We’re gonna have three days of festivities before we open. We’re even gonna have a low rider parade come up to the front of the museum. And people can expect to see a really unbelievable museum with art they’ve generally never seen before. Because my mantra is: You can’t love or hate Chicano art unless you see it. What’s next for you after this? You know, Woody Harrelson just opened a smoke lounge in West Hollywood … I know you said you’re not opening dispensaries, but what about a smoke lounge with a Cheech and Chong theme and decor? That would be really cool. I actually just finished working with Woody on a picture this December in Winnipeg, and we had a great time. He’s an old buddy. But yeah, sure – I mean, if some smoke lounge opens up and it makes sense, we’d be interested. You never know.
CHEECHMARIN.COM | @CHEECHMARIN INTERVIEW by BOBBY BLACK @BOBBYBLACK420/LEAF NATION
Here’s an Idea! Let us make Your Prerolls Who We are
What we can do
5 million + Prerolls made Per year
- LabelIng - Packaging - Quality Prerolls - Consistent results - Quick Turn-around - Competitive Pricing
20+ Years of industry experience Fastest Turn around in the state Technology with laser precision accuracy team comprised of dedicated Preroll experts international patent pending proprietary technology
Worked with Recognized brands
From Idea to Products That are ready to sell
Get a Quote Now schedule a tour 971-319-3910
inquire@greencanopyusa.com www.greencanopyusa.com
Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out of reach of children.
WWW.EXOTICBLENDZPDX.COM Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out of the reach of children.
THE EQUALITY ISSUE leafmagazines.com
52
Co-Founders Marissa Rodriguez, left, and Joy Hudson, at their Portland, Ore. offices, where the company’s products help raise funds for organizations working to undo the harm of the war on drugs, specifically the damage to Black and Brown communities.
JUNE 2022
nimble
A Symbol of Change
On the surface, Nimble Distro seems lighthearted and playful. Whimsical, even. But much like the Cannabis industry as a whole, underneath the company’s breezy whimsy lives a mission and intention that carries with it an intense gravity.
FOUNDED just outside of Portland, Ore. by longtime friends and business partners Joy Hudson and Marissa Rodriguez, Nimble stands as a company constructed with detail and deliberation to make a change in the world. It’s a company borne on the wings of huge ambition and commitment to justice and charity – structured in a way that they hope can be a blueprint for how Cannabis companies can be built in the future, in order to build a better, more just world. A D R E A M B O R N O U T O F PA I N
Hudson and Rodriguez founded Nimble on the heels of exiting the company they ran together, The Sweet Life Distro. But their commitment to justice came early in life – and they were active in policy and philanthropy long before their current endeavor. “She was born with a fist in the air, shaking it at the man,” Hudson said of Rodriguez, whose passion for justice she describes with almost reverential regard. Born into a family of progressive thinkers in Mendocino County, Rodriguez recalls pivotal moments in her childhood that influenced her commitment to activism. One of the earliest was in eighth grade, when “We want to know she read an article about the CIA funding the Iran Contras by selling crack cocaine for cash on the streets of Los Angeles. that our actions, When 2020 hit, the pair were in the midst of an exit from their comour business, pany, and Hudson was at a complete reset point in her life. It was the perfect time for drastic action. our intent, “Like a lot of beautiful things, it’s born out of pain,” Hudson said. our initiatives … “Marissa and I loved building the company that we built before Nimble, but we often felt like we couldn’t truly make it everything that we wanted are working it to be. … We paused for a minute and began asking ourselves the toward repair.” really important question of who we want to be.” -NIMBLE CO-FOUNDER MARISSA RODRIGUEZ Like the entire world, Hudson and Rodriguez were shaken and shaped by the events of that year. Continues next page
STORY by TOM BOWERS @CANNABOMBTOM for LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by FLETCHER WOLD @FWOLD_PHOTOGRAPHY
THE equality ISSUE
nimble
Continued from previous page
“On top of internal care, perhaps the most impactful piece of Nimble’s business comes from its approach to charitable giving. They started by identifying a way to take their flagship brand – colorful pre-roll packs called Kites – and turn it into a revenue generator for good. They give 50 cents from the sale of every pack to NuProject (nuproject.org), a Portland-based organization dedicated to building generational wealth in Black and Brown communities.”
leafmagazines.com
54
The pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, the protests, the gross injustice of it all – it seemed to cast their mission into stark relief. “These profound moments that were happening in the world were blowing right through us as we were forming the foundation of the company,” Hudson said. “I think that is part of the magic sauce … that we kept being hit by these critical things that just rocked us, and then we’d get back to forming our company and would say, ‘What can we start and do now?’” Their privilege as successful entrepreneurs drove them to ask some hard questions. “What responsibility do we have to everyone? To ourselves, to our families, to the people who work for us, for our vendor clients, and our customers,” Rodriguez asked. “What responsibility do we have to them, especially looking through the lens of the horrific colonial legacy of this country, specifically in Cannabis? That’s the conversation that we were having 18 months ago. Wow, we can do this
june 2022
thing, and if we can do it, we sure as shit better get it right.” FROM THE GROUND UP
The starting point for their mission shone like a beacon on a clear night. Hudson and Rodriguez, two female entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest, decided they wanted to fix the world. And they wanted to start with the war on drugs. “We want to know that our actions, our business, our intent, our initiatives … are working toward repair,” Rodriguez said. “We have this totally crazy goal of undoing the harm done by the war on drugs. That’s ridiculous
that Joy and I are going to undo the harm done by the war on drugs. But it has to be crazy aspirational. You have to set these goals that seem impossible in order to make any progress.” Moving forward mightily, they designed a number of goals to overlay on top of the core responsibilities of being a wholesale distributor and manufacturer. The first no-brainer was that they wanted to be a second-chance employer, so they hired consultants who had worked with prisoners and within the system to find the best path forward to build that program – constructing
NuProject Co-founder Jeannette Ward Horton said the support of Nimble and a consistent source of funds has been “game-changing.”
their organizational chart with former prisoners in mind. Next, they knew they wanted to build their company to not only better the lives of their employees, but also to raise money for organizations that worked to undo the harm done by the war on drugs, specifically the damage to Black and Brown communities. “Money is influence,” Rodriguez said. “Corporations have more rights than women.” (At this point in the interview, everyone had to take a pause to let the reality of that statement truly sink in.) “It’s tragic, but it’s the reality that we live in. Corporations have rights. If we’re going to be a corporation, how do we turn that money into influence in all kinds of ways? How do we support local orgs and initiatives? How do we support the people who work for us?” I N T E N T I O N A L I M PA C T
To begin with, they started by making sure their company minimum wage was above the local minimum wage, setting the baseline hourly rate at $17 per hour. Then they carved aside 10% of ownership in the company for employee stock options, which are available to all employees. “We want to go back to the model where employers who employ somebody for their entire career, those people should be able to retire from there. You don’t do that through their actual wages, that’s how they survive,” Hudson said, referring to the choice to offer ownership to the staff.
“Ownership creates an attitude of ownership, which is great for the organization. But there’s also the fact that I just want people to have something,” Rodriguez said. On top of internal care, perhaps the most impactful piece of Nimble’s business comes from its approach to charitable giving. They started by identifying a way to take their flagship brand – colorful pre-roll packs called Kites – and turn it into a revenue generator for good. They give 50 cents from the sale of every pack to NuProject (nuproject.org), a Portland-based organization dedicated to building generational wealth in Black and Brown communities. “Whenever we’re creating a new product, and we create our cost of goods schedule, we build reparations into the line item as a cost on the product, so that we’re contributing to our cause unit by unit,” Hudson said of their approach. “So literally as the brand is growing, the cause gets more and more and more. It’s built into the early framework. We’re not waiting for profitability. We’re not doing a percentage of profits, because if you wait until that point to consider your giving, it’s a very stressful point … unless it’s a very large number.”
Jeannette Ward Horton, co-founder of NuProject and thought leader on issues of equity and entrepreneurship in the Cannabis community, says that Nimble’s approach has already made a significant difference in the community her organization serves. “That to me kind of shifts the idea,” Ward Horton said of Nimble’s commitment to giving before profits are calculated. “It’s something that’s nice to do after the fact, but then when times get tight, companies can cut it off. But the way Nimble is doing it, it’s part of their plan. The support is game-changing for us, having a consistent source of funds … It’s hard to express how much the regular support really does mean. Black and Brown-run nonprofits are significantly less funded than their white peers, and they really leaned in. I can’t be more thankful.” That support adds up to real-world impact, and has contributed significantly to NuProject’s cause. “We’ve given $2 million to the community,” Ward Horton said about NuProject’s overall impact to date, to which Nimble has contributed significantly. “We’ve spent 486 hours mentoring Black and Brown entrepreneurs, and we couldn’t have done that without Joy and Marissa. 486 hours is a lot of mentoring for the Black and Brown community.” Nimble isn’t stopping there. Hudson and Rodriguez also will be rolling out a new premium flower pre-roll line called Broomsticks, a witchy nod that will give profits to an abortion access fund. Hudson and Rodriguez are currently finding licensees in other states, and the first thing they look for is an alignment of values – before discussing anything else. “If a Cannabis company wants to look at how to do this, and how to give back, and make it part of our fabric,” Ward Horton said, “then Nimble is doing it right.” The reason, for the Nimble team, is clear. “What’s your legacy? What side of history were you on? You had an opportunity to do something. What did you do? Those are the kinds of questions I ask myself,” Rodriguez said. “What will my grandchildren think of the choices that I made?” NIMBLEDISTRO.COM | @NIMBLEDISTRO N U P R O J E C T. O R G | @ N U L E A F P R O J E C
STORY by TOM BOWERS @CANNABOMBTOM for LEAF NATION | PHOTOS by FLETCHER WOLD @FWOLD_PHOTOGRAPHY
THE equality ISSUE
THE WRECKAGE of the War on Drugs still reaches so far beyond our Cannabis community that there’s hardly an end in sight – but we’re here to highlight those making a change in our little corner of the world. It’s a world that reflects outside issues, yet its relative infancy means there may still be hope for setting higher standards of equity and equality.
leafmagazines.com
58
MSS OREGON
june 2022
The latest statistics from MJ Biz to Cannaclusive still show low levels of diversity across the board in our industry. Most surveys find that under 5% of the industry is Black-owned, for example. But there are large gaps in reporting and many folks don’t identify with the type of simplified identity categorizations presented. Like many issues, a little perspective can connect complicated ideas with the everyday impact on our fellow humans. We took some time to peek into the perspective of a Portlander, proud mother, plant-lover, and proponent of change: Tacarra Russell, better known as “Mss Oregon.” She’s been directly affected by the War on Drugs her whole life. But these days, she’s building something better for her family and community. “In Cannabis, we talk a lot about the War on Drugs and how it’s impacted families. But not often do we see those families actually highlighted in this industry,” says Tacarra.
Tacarra Russell | CEO & founder Diversify Portland & National Cannabis Diversity Awareness Convention
When Mss Oregon turned to look for a plant-touching position, she found tangible instances of racism in the workplace. When she turned to other areas of the community, she found unequal representation. “I’d go into these shops and not many people looked like me, you know?” she asserts. But racism and inequality weren’t the only burdens Mss Oregon was bearing. She was determined to rise up from generational damage and supply stability for a family. “I kept trying to figure it out. Like, how do I pick myself up?” she asked. “I want to be an entrepreneur, but I don’t want to do it how my mom did it.” So in 2017, she began doing business as Diversify Portland, a “social development and event planning service all about curating community growth.” It started as a series of networking parties and blossomed into a host of services, ranging from cultural sensitivity training to event planning. “To this date, I have connected over 200 businesses with opportunities to show themselves as diverse and connect themselves with individuals or other businesses that can help them grow. I’ve connected over 2,000 individual humans with opportunities (like jobs),” says Tacarra. The first National Cannabis Diversity Awareness Convention (NCDAC) in 2019 was the next step in Mss Oregon’s continuing effort to increase diversity awareness in the Cannabis community. The event (like many others) ran into complications during the pandemic. But Mss Oregon tells us that there are plans in place to bring it back. Interested investors, attendees, companies, and anyone looking to “raise diversity awareness … and capital for minority-owned Cannabis businesses” can find out more at DiversifyCannabis.org. When clicking through the pages of this website, you may just notice the “Meet The Founders” page. It features the faces of Mss Oregon’s own family, and surely some of the industry’s youngest social activists-slash-professionals. “There’s this awesome little girl out there that they say is the youngest person in the Cannabis industry. But she’s not – it’s this little Black boy right here in Portland, Oregon!” Tacarra tells me. “He’s 11-years-old and owns the National Convention (NCDAC) – his name’s on the paperwork!” Mss Oregon is speaking of her son, True. His official titles are Social Media Specialist (in training), Event Curator and Youth Facilitator. But shifting the cultural landscape takes more than a mother-son duo and Mss Oregon and True have employed the help of the whole family. Klassic is Mss Oregon’s youngest daughter, as well as NCDAC’s official Graphic Designer (in training), Content Creator and Youth Facilitator. Tahkiya is the oldest of the siblings and is in training for the position of COO.
“To this date, I have connected over 200 businesses with opportunities to show themselves as diverse and connect themselves with individuals or other businesses that can help them grow. I’ve connected over 2,000 individual humans with opportunities (like jobs),” says Tacarra.
Tahkiya, Mss Oregon, Klassic, and True in Yea Dat Clothing @yeadatclothingstore
When asked why she chose to put her family at the forefront of the organization, Mss Oregon said she hopes that they can build a better future, then recalled her own childhood. “The impact of being on food stamps and being on welfare and being in that life – with drugs in my home. Experiencing homelessness because my mom went to prison (because she got caught with drugs). It left us in a hole … I wasn’t taught anything that structures a community and builds you personally into a place of comfortable livability. I want to make sure that my kids are comfortable and educated. Those are the two things I care about. The NCDAC is a blueprint for generational wealth,” says Tacarra. While her kids continue to build the skills necessary to take over the business, Mss Oregon is taking further steps to lay the groundwork for future generations. She’s been sitting on senate bill committees (such as SB1579’s Economic Equity Investment Program), taking part in the OHA’s Oregon Cannabis Commission Social Equity Team, and attending City Council meetings. As Tacarra puts it, “In the midst of changing my own life, I will be able to change so many other people’s.” DIVERSIFYCANNABIS.ORG | DIVERSIFYPORTLAND.COM @MSS_OREGON @NCDAC @DIVERSIFYPORTLAND
STORY by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA/OREGON LEAF | PHOTOS by FLETCHER WOLD @FWOLD_PHOTOGRAPHY
THIS PRODUCT HAS INTOXICATING EFFECTS AND MAY BE HABIT FORMING. MARIJUANA CAN IMPAIR CONCENTRATION, COORDINATION, AND JUDGMENT. DO NOT OPERATE A VEHICLE OR MACHINERY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THIS DRUG. THERE MAY BE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CONSUMPTION OF THIS PRODUCT. FOR USE ONLY BY ADULTS TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER. KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN.
THE EQUALITY ISSUE
THE HUMO TEAM, INCLUDING BRAND PARTNER SUSIE PLASCENCIA, SEATED IN FRONT.
PHOTO BY ENKRYPT LOS ANGELES
62
In early 2022, POSIBL launched Humo (meaning “smoke” en español) with an array of aptly named cultivars, including Pastelito (“little cakes”) and “So much of the Cajeta in honor of one of Mexico’s most beloved goat’s normalization and milk caramel confections. de-stigmatization Humo is one of the first Mexhappening in the ican American brands availLatino community is able throughout California that’s not only targeting the coming through the Latine demographic, but also relieving of pain.” creating an authentic cultural -SUSIE PLASCENCIA | HUMO aesthetic of proud Latine stoners – sans the cartel and gang stereotypes. “Just because our brand is Latino-owned doesn’t mean that it’s automatically associated with the cartels,” says Susie Plascencia, brand partner for Humo and Cannabis entrepreneur who’s devoted to dismantling Cannabis’ stigma in the Latine community. “Part of our mission with the community we are building on social media is making sure people see [the plant] for what it is, which is medicine. It’s something to help the community. So much of the normal“When we asked our brand partners ization and de-stigmatization happening in the Latino why there are no Latino brands, they said community is coming through the relieving of pain.” because everyone lacked the authenticity Roni Melton, founder of Zapata Cannabis Co., to do it, and everything in branding is says non-Latines often make inaccurate assumpabout authenticity,” says tions that Mexicans in Cannabis Jesus Burrola, CEO are connected to drug kingpins of POSIBL, a 12-acre akin to Pablo Escobar or Griselgreenhouse cultivation da Blanco. But the stereotyping project in Salinas, sometimes extends beyond the Caif. – wholly owned, shadows of the cartel and into operated and funded by fictionalized, two-dimensional Latin Americans. cartoon characters. “My clients kept ask“This is why our brand is focused ing me, ‘Why don’t you on Mexican and minority revoludo it?’” tionaries,” says Melton, referring Zapata Cannabis Co. showcases Mexican Burrola, who was to Zapata’s strains named after and minority revolutionaries on their born and raised in Geronimo, an Apache warrior packaging in order to provide education northern Mexico, says born in northern Mexico that’s now as well as reclaim their cultural icons. he never intended to New Mexico, and Pancho Villa. dive into the branding side of Cannabis. “People within the culture often don’t know that But he realized the large-scale Latine weed Emilio Zapata, our namesake, was a hero in the Mexibrand wouldn’t materialize unless his team can Revolution and will ask if he’s the Tapatio man! did it. That’s where education comes in.”
viva la raza
leafmagazines.com
Authentic Latine Cannabis brands are beginning to take up space in the legal Cannabis industry – and we’re here for it. It’s clear the drug war is a scam. The pop-history of Reagan’s “Just Say No” fails to paint a complete portrait of America’s anti-drug ethos. It even predates Nixon’s vapid fear of LSD and naked hippies, and Harry Anslinger’s racist weed propaganda of the ‘30s. America’s drug phobia – and specific hatred of Cannabis – began when an influx of Mexicans migrated into the U.S. to flee the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Many brought Cannabis with them over the border, making it a target of racist demonization by the U.S. Government.
Mexicans have a storied history with the plant in the United States. What’s more, the 2020 Census reported that 39 percent of California’s residents are Latine. Despite technically accounting for the largest portion of the state’s population, relatively no Cannabis brands cater to the Latine demographic. Sure, there are a few big Latine names in Cannabis – such as Sherbinski, Berner and B-Real. But they aren’t necessarily making products for the Latine community.
JUNE 2022
Low-quality flower is another Mexican/Cannabis stereotype. But that gets squashed quickly as soon as products come out of the packaging. Humo, for instance, sells clean greenhouse bud grown under the Monterey County sun, with THC percentages in the 30s. Zapata Cannabis Co. sells premium indoor flower with THC also in the 30s. Neither brand sells seedy weed that smells like sunbleached hay scraps. Latin American “Selling really high-qualReclamation of demonized ity weed at affordable price words and symbols is how representation points is how you break Daniel Torres, Founder and CEO in the global the stigma of ‘Mexican dirt of Mari y Juana (a California weed,’” says Melton. Cannabis industry edibles and infused-drinks brand) Latin American represenis educating the public about is growing via tation in the global CannaCannabis’ Latine roots. bis industry is growing via “We were told that the word education groups, education groups, cooper‘marijuana’ was used with racist cooperatives and rhetoric in the early days of atives and nonprofits. There nonprofits. are groups in New York, Cannabis prohibition,” Torres such as the Latino Cannasays. “It was used bis Association, the Latino to demonize MexiCannabis Industry Association, and High can and Filipino immigrants and Mi Madre. There’s Cannalatino in Denver, other people of color. I learned from the Bay Area Latino Cannabis Alliance researching it that, in Mexico, the (BALCA) in Oakland, Fundación Daya in Spanish word used was ‘marihuaSantiago, Chile, and Mama Cultiva in na,’ and it wasn’t a bad word. I want Buenos Aires, Argentina. to take control of the word and reclaim it to There are several Latin American-owned show people that it’s not racist and that it was dispensaries, too – from Javier’s Organour word to begin with.” ics in Oakland to La Mota in Oregon to Torres’ family is from Jalisco, Mexico, Bwell Healing Center in Puerto Rico – all where their Indigenous lineage dates back of which are dedicated to the same thing: centuries. He pays homage to his ancesrepairing the damage of vilification. tors by incorporating Mexican art and food
Follow the companies mentioned to learn more about their work!
P O S I B L P R O J E C T. C O M @POSIBLPROJEC
GETHUMO.COM @ G E T. H U M O
PHOTOS COURTESY ZAPATA CANNABIS CO.
PHOTO BY BEN LALANDE
POSIBL CEO JESUS BURROLA AT THE COMPANY’S 12-ACRE GREENHOUSE PROJECT IN SALINAS, CALIF.
Latin American representation in the global Cannabis industry is growing via education groups, cooperatives and nonprofits.
MARI Y JUANA PRODUCES A VARIETY OF CANNABIS-INFUSED BEVERAGES AND EDIBLES.
traditions into the products – from branding aesthetics to edible flavors. Mari y Juana’s ¡Mota Mix! is among the most popular infused drink in their lineup. It was a legacy market favorite before Torres and his team jumped into the legal game. Now Mari y Juana offers infused tamarindo, piña, mandarín and guava soft drinks. “Mari y Juana is here to represent Mexicans and people of Mexican descent in the California Cannabis industry,” Torres says. “It’s a representation of history and tradition. Through our brand and product offerings, we want to share our traditions and history with everyone. I feel Mexican culture is meant to be appreciated by all.” And so is Cannabis. It looks like Mexicans and marijuana were always meant to be.
Z A PATA C A N N A B I S C O . C O M @ Z A PATA C A N N A B I S C O M PA N Y_
DRINKMJ.COM @MARIJUANAFOODSCO
STORY by MARY CARREON @MARYYYSTARDUST for LEAF NATION
plant people
SAN FRANCISCO
WOLF IN THE KITCHEN
leafmagazines.com
66
CHEF HAEJIN CHUN BIG BAD WOLF
Korean-American Chef Haejin Chun dishes out more than Cannabisinfused cuisine at her intimate dinner gatherings.
WHEN IT COMES TO CANNABIS AND EQUALITY, the practice of consuming this ancient medicine shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s imperative to support brands that better the community, as we as individuals have the power to lift each other up and direct the dialogue to create the industry we want to see. Sure, there’s benefit from outsiders coming in with relevant experience and resources, but only if they reinvest into the community. If corporations show up solely for financial gains, however, they don’t deserve a seat at the table – specifically the table of modern-day healer Chef Haejin Chun – whose medicine is a stunning spread of authentic, Cannabisinfused Korean American cuisine.
JUNE 2022
B I G B A D WO L F
Chun is a first-generation Korean American who’s built a name for herself within the culinary Cannabis industry, as well as her own community, through the company she founded in 2015: Big Bad Wolf. The inspiration for the name, she says, comes from Korean folk tales. “My grandma used to tell me stories about wolves when I was younger, and that always stayed with me,” she explains. “Then, later, I learned that wolves lead the pack from the back, making sure everyone gets there. Since I consider BBW to be more of a community than just a supper club, this seemed appropriate.” Throughout young adulthood, Chun found healing in Cannabis — both for social pleasure and for pain and anxiety. The medicine was always part of her journey, but it wasn’t until Cannabis became recreationally legalized in 2018 that she incorporated it into her private Chef business. The transition was seamless and she actually felt more aligned than any other time in her life. “It would have taken more energy to stop that momentum than to ride with it,” Chun shares. “My friends were in the industry, and it was all around me, so I hosted one dinner – which spiraled into what it is now, seven years later.” With a degree in Fine Art from California College of the Arts, Chun has always loved curating engaging experiences – a fact that’s apparent at her pop-up events. Her keen attention to detail creates a level of intimacy and one-of-a-kind moments that attendees can appreciate and enjoy. “For me, it’s less about being a technical, classically trained chef,” Chun explains. “It’s more about bringing together the community, building a table that’s meant for all of us, and using that table as a safe space to gather to continue to have these kinds of conversations.” Though not classically trained, Chun did spend two years in Paris fine-tuning her culinary skills while remaining true to her Korean heritage. “My food is like me – diverse, multi-faceted and well-traveled,” says Chun. “Yes, I grew up eating Korean food … but growing up in California, I also ate In-N-Out and tacos just as much.”
These varied influences combine to create a culinary style that she defines as “Contemporary Californian, seasonal, with Korean flavors.” Then, of course, there’s the Cannabis – which she’s incorporated into everything from bacon fat to kimchi. “My favorite infusions are kief honey and live resin sesame oil,” says Chun. “I also get a lot of requests for my infused brown butter, pan-fried, black sesame mochi. And my bulgogi dumplings are always a hit, too.” A S A C R E D S PA C E
The business is not solely about the food, though – the Big Bad Wolf platform is a means to amplify minority voices, intentionally connect aligned people and brands, and help those in need. “I am facilitating healing the healers – nourishing people on the front lines that are exhausted, helping them remember who they are and why they are doing the work,” says Chun. One of Chun’s favorite aspects of her work is connecting women to each other and highlighting women-owned brands through her Women’s Dinners. “That’s really where my heart is,” Chun opens up. “There’s this spiritual aspect that goes beyond the dinner. I’ve watched that ripple effect, even from my first Women’s Dinner three years ago. People who met at that dinner who’ve become sisters, friends, business partners or collaborators, and it’s still happening within the community today. For me, amplifying these voices is equity.” In addition to the diverse, unique menu and theme for each event, Chun pours her heart into everything she does – setting an example of how you can be mindful and create depth, narrative, and positive representation through food and Cannabis. “Food is the ultimate universal language,” she says. “It’s comfort, it’s love, it’s the gesture. Then you combine that with the ceremony and ritual of Cannabis, which for many of us is ancestral – it goes back thousands of years in Korea. To activate that energy through food and Cannabis, something magical happens.” Guests are eating the Chef up just as they are her delicious infusions. As a proud, successful Asian woman, Chun is admired by individuals and businesses who crave authenticity and connection, and want to thrive without hiding or changing who they are. Not only do they respect Chun, but also those gathered around them – as if each guest is a personal friend of the Chef. “I’ve seen so many beautiful things happen around my table,” says Chun. “In those moments, I feel the most myself, the most aligned with the work I’m trying to do, and I feel the most seen at the same time. That is the essence of Big Bad Wolf.”
BALANCE AND EQUALITY
Photo by Robert Gee
Chun’s message is loud and clear: If you don’t care, you can’t sit with us. Like many other small businesses in the Cannabis space, Big Bad Wolf would prefer not to rely on large corporations for financial support … but sometimes, it’s necessary for big and small brands to come together. “It’s about how to build a community while still being part of this industry, which is very split – it’s corporate versus mom-and-pop. If I could only amplify mom-and-pop farms, or minority-owned, black-owned, Asian-owned, queer-owned brands – I would love to do that. But sometimes I’m in the trenches and I have to figure out how to sustain this,” Chun confesses. “So I will take a corporate sponsorship and have a bigger brand at my table, but only if they still care about the right things and are showing up for the right reason.” Despite a premium ticket price, Big Bad Wolf dinner parties sell out almost instantly – but Chun also makes an effort to offer discounts to those who may be financially restricted, in order to maintain inclusivity. “I’ll use that corporate sponsorship to make sure the rest of the table is representative of smaller brands, equity brands, my friend’s brands, and people who wouldn’t normally be able to afford it,” she says. In an ideal world, there wouldn’t be this disconnection between living our values and financial stability, but until there is a more even playing field, all we can do is align with individuals and businesses that care about elevating each other. Together, we all rise. “It’s a constant struggle choosing between money and my values – constantly doing this balancing act of making enough money to get to the next level, but also FOLLOW CHEF staying true to the things, people HAEJIN CHUN and brands you care about,” says ON INSTAGRAM Chun. “I think that’s what equity in @BIGBADWOLFSF this industry is all about.”
STORY by ALEXA JESSE @ALEXAJESSE for LEAF NATION | PORTRAIT by MIKE ROSATI @ROSATIPHOTOS | ADDITIONAL PHOTOS courtesy of BIG BAD WOLF
cooking with cannnabis
tastes of summer JUNE ROCKS. And it’s Pride Month. The weather tends to be good … hopefully warm, not crazy hot. From Alaska to SoCal to the East Coast and beyond, we all should be able to enjoy some outdoor merrymaking. My strain of the month is Life Coach from Noble Farms. First of all – and I hate to be shallow – it’s pretty. But more importantly, as the love child of Orange Cookies and Biscotti, it’s sweet, fruity and quite uplifting. Oh Cannabis, I love you.
Serves four | 5mg THC per serving
ARUGULA SALAD EXTRAORDINAIRE 4 strips bacon 1 large shallot, peeled and minced 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 2 tablespoons brown sugar 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons orange juice 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2/3 cup olive oil 4 teaspoons canna olive oil 4 large handfuls of arugula 4 large handfuls mixed salad greens 20 large cooked shrimp, cut in pieces if desired 1 red onion, thinly sliced 20 grape tomatoes 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, cut in chunks and tossed with lemon juice salt and pepper
1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain off grease, reserving the fat in the pan. Chop bacon. 2. Heat the bacon drippings in the skillet, over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve. 3. Scrape the contents of the skillet into a blender. Add the vinegar, juice, mustard and oils. Blend well. 4. In a large serving bowl, toss the greens with the shrimp, red onion, tomatoes and avocado. Add the dressing and toss again. Season with salt and pepper.
68
Serves four | 5mg THC per serving
FANCY FISH TACOS
R EC I P E S by LAU RIE WOLF P HOTOS by B RUC E WOLF
Serves four | 5mg THC per serving
CANNA CARBONARA
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
2 tablespoons olive oil 4 teaspoons canna olive oil 2 ounces pancetta or lardons of bacon, cut in small pieces 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 large eggs ½ cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for garnish 1 pound spaghetti salt and pepper
1. In a large saute pan, heat both of the oils over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 2-3 minutes, until starting to get crisp around the edges. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the cheese. 3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook according to the directions on the package. The pasta needs to be hot for this dish to be successful. Drain the pasta and immediately add to the saute pan. 4. Remove pan from the heat, add egg mixture to pasta and stir fast to coat pasta. 5. Season with salt and pepper and serve with additional cheese, if desired.
june 2022
¼ cup cooking oil 8 small flour tortillas 4 radishes, thinly sliced 3 scallions, sliced ½ yellow bell pepper, cut in chunks 1 avocado, cut in cubes and tossed with lemon juice 2 tablespoons chopped red onion 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced ½ pound cod or other white fish salt and pepper 4 teaspoons canna olive oil 1 tablespoon olive oil parsley, cilantro, lemon slices to garnish
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the tortillas quickly on both sides and place on paper towels or a clean dish towel. 2. In a medium bowl, combine the radishes, scallions, pepper, avocado, red onion and garlic. 3. Place the fish on your work surface. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a medium saucepan, combine the canna and olive oils. Break the fish into pieces and saute quickly, about 3-4 minutes, tossing to cook evenly. 4. Add the fish to the vegetable mixture in the bowl, tossing gently to combine. 5. Place two tortillas on each plate. Top each tortilla with some of the fish mixture. Garnish with the parsley, cilantro and lemon slices. Salt and pepper to taste.
#Celebrat ePri de #HappyBi rt hdayBruce #EatYourCa nna b is # D ontFea rTheEd ib le # Ukra ine
edible of the month
“I awoke from my Cannabis coma feeling as if this gummy guided me through an entire weekend meditation retreat in my own home.”
70
A S T R A L T R E AT S
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
MAGNETAR MANGO GUMMIES ASTRAL TREATS fully encompassed the freshest mango flavor and blessed us all with their 50mg Magnetar Mango Cannabis infused gummy. The sugar-coated, star-shaped, patented gummy fits snugly in the palm of your hand and comes complete in an eye-catching cosmic package. Upon opening, I knew I was in for something special because the tropical smell hit me like a bus. Just one bite gave me a mouthful of flavors and things to say, but mostly it was just “yum and mmmm.” I had to wait a little bit to start feeling the effects, but found it was well worth the wait. Now, I am a bit biased towards hybrids because I enjoy
june 2022
Finally … June is here! Quintessential time of basking in the sun, dipping our toes in the water and tasting the sweet fruits that summer brings to the table. Most people think of watermelon when asked about their favorite summer snack, but the unsung hero of the hot months of 2022 is mango. There isn’t anything as refreshing as taking a bite into its juicy ripeness. Or is there?
a more balanced high, but this indica definitely made me question my tactics. The relaxation wave hit me hard and it wasn’t long until I found myself hitting the yoga mat to further the zen. A smooth and mellow vibe continued to surround my clouded thoughts after my yoga sesh, which compelled me to cuddle up on the couch and slip away. I awoke from my Cannabis coma feeling as if this gummy guided me through an entire weekend meditation retreat in my own home. So many different variations of gummies are on the market these days and Astral Treats stand high and tall above the rest by creating such delicious
products for consumers. Their innovation to produce superior edibles gives Cannabis chefs new standards to hold themselves to. Astral has many star-shaped gummy flavors to choose from like Deep Space Dragonfruit and Strawberry Supernova, and you can’t go wrong with whichever flavor you decide. The only mistake would be leaving the dispensary without one of these iconic delicacies. ASTRALTREATS.COM | @ASTRALTREATS.ETH 50MG THC PER GUMMY
REVIEW & PHOTO by DIANA THOMPSON @DUDE.DIANA for OREGON LEAF
1% of all salee gg towarr bee researcc ann educatioo
concentrate of the month
72
“The high was the prompt kick to the crown GMO is famous for.”
THEGRASSE.COM SOFRESH.FARM 70.4% THC 5.25% TERPS
LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
C O N C E N T R AT E B Y G R A S S E / / C U LT I VAT E D B Y S O F R E S H F A R M S
GMO LIVE ICE HASH Most months you’ll find this page graced with some of the latest live resin or top shelf hash rosin, but when the unique opportunity presented itself to try some GMO live ice hash, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the gently washed and ever-so-lightly dried trichomes that were carefully curated for our smoking pleasure.
june 2022
THIS COLLABORATION between Grasse and SoFresh Farms is a testimonial to sound hash-making practices, but also to the undeniable quality of the starting material which is critical to produce results of this quality. Taking just the smallest little bit of the light-colored, beach sand shade resin glands which were almost translucent, and pressing them softly between my fingers, it was clear that this was truly full melt hash. With just the tiniest force and a touch of body heat, the resin glands melted together like butter – releasing that undeniable terpene profile that gives GMO such a notorious reputation. The scent profile was exactly what I’m looking for in a GMO. That phat, dank, greasy mushroom onion burger seriously dripping
with garlic flavor. The high was the prompt kick to the crown GMO is famous for, and the hangtime had some quality dunks to keep me high as a Georgia Pine for a few hours. With that information after my initial run, I knew the best way to really enjoy this product: I rolled up a blunt with about a half of a gram of the full melt, three grams of top shelf flower, and waited for a good opportunity to spark it up with my tribe at DFO. We all got out-and-out faded, and just let the vibe of the entire event lift our collective energy to a higher place. The laughter, conversations, and time spent with some of my favorite people was a total blessing. Grasse and SoFresh knocked it out of the park with this product – a true gem of a GMO experience I won’t soon forget.
REVIEW by DAVE MCDOWELL for OREGON LEAF | PHOTO by DIANA THOMPSON @DUDE.DIANA
cannthropology
PRESENTS
The ruins of the temple fortress at Tel Arad in Israel’s Negev desert. Below: Tokin’ Jew seder plate.
76
Kosher Kush leafmagazines.com
Highlighting the history of Jews and Cannabis.
It’s well established that, for Grav Labs’ menorah bong. millennia, Cannabis has been used as food and fiber, as well as for medicinal and sacramental purposes by many ancient cultures … but would it surprise you to know that the Hebrews were among them? Now, a new exhibit at New York City’s YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is showcasing the age-old relationship between the Chosen Cairo Geniza fragment. TEXTS & TEXTILES People and their apparent drug of choice. Titled “Am Yisrael But these are hardly the High: The Story of Jews and Cannabis,” the exhibit contains only references to Cannabis in ancient Hebrew a number of contemporary items – including a shofar pipe, a Yiddish translation of the book “Hashish” and a menorah texts. The Talmud (the primary source of Jewish bong by Grav Labs, which curator Eddy Portnoy says served religious law) discusses growing hemp and how as the inspiration for the exhibit. It also features a sampling it should be kept separate from other crops. of documents from the Cairo Geniza: a collection of around There are also references to Jews using hemp 400,000 Jewish manuscript fragments discovered in the textiles to make religious garments such as tallitot (prayer shawls), tzitzit (knotted fringes Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo in the 1800s. Among the or tassels), and even burial shrouds. gems found in this treasure trove of material are song lyrics “It’s most prominent in clothing and about a Jew high on hashish and wine with a severe case of is considered to have a form of spiritual the munchies, and a “purchase order” for protection, so it was used very comhashish in exchange for silver dating from monly in burying the dead in Israel,” the 13th century CE.
JUNE 2022
Tokin’ Jew shofar pipe.
says Rabbi Yosef Glassman, MD, who spoke at the exhibit’s opening. “It’s believed that when there’s resurrection of the dead in the future, people will be wearing Cannabis clothing.” Hemp was often used to build Schach (Sukkah roofs), and in the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) it’s also recommended as the preferred material for wicks in Shabbat lamps and candles. KANEH BOSEM There are also several places in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) that refer to a spice called kaneh bosem, which may or may not be Cannabis. The Aramaic term (also referred to as kanabos) appears five times in the Old Testament – most significantly in Exodus, where God lists it among the five spices in the recipe for holy anointing oil he dictates to Moses. Historically, most sources have translated kaneh bosem as “sweet cane” – a vague description that makes identifying it difficult. Some scholars have interpreted it to be calamus, while others even believe its identity was purposely kept a secret because it was so sacred.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF YIVO ARCHIVES (4)
ISRAEL MUSEUM
TEL ARAD TEMPLE In May 2020, the academic journal of Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology published an article revealing that Can- Above: Tel Arad’s “Holy of nabis residue had been Holies.” Inset: Cannabis discovered on one of two resin residue on the altar. altars in the 2,700-yearold Judean temple known as Tel Arad (located in the Negev Desert about 59 miles south of Tel Aviv). The two limestone altars, which contained traces of burnt offerings, were located at the entrance of the temple’s inner sanctum – also known as the “holy of holies.” The larger of the two altars contained remnants of frankincense, while the smaller was found to contain traces of Cannabis resin (including cannabinoids THC, CBD and CBN) and animal dung, which archeologists believe was likely used to heat the hashish. Researchers also noted that since Cannabis wasn’t typically utilized for its fragrance, it was almost certainly burned for its psychotropic effects. “It seems likely that Cannabis was used at Arad as a deliberate psychoactive, to stimulate ecstasy as part of cultic ceremonies,” they wrote. “If so, this is the first such evidence in the cult of Judah.” MEDICAL USE & THE MIDDLE AGES There’s ample evidence that Jews continued to use Cannabis spiritually and medicinally throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages. In 1992, an archaeological dig in a cave at Beit Shemesh (about 35 miles west of Jerusalem) uncovered evidence of hashish in the stomach of the 1,623-year-old
remains of a 14-year-old girl who was nine months pregnant – leading researchers to conclude it had likely been used as an anesthetic during childbirth as early as the 4th century CE. In the 12th century, Maimonides – the most influential Jewish scholar/physician of the Middle Ages – recommended using Cannabis oil for colds, headaches, respiratory problems and clogged ears. In the 13th century, a Kabbalistic grimoire called the “Sefer Raziel” suggested Cannabis as a preventative for keeping demons away. And in the 16th century, the chief rabbi of Cairo, Rabbi ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, stated that the “leaves of Cannabis make one happy.” And then there’s Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (aka Baal Shem Tov), who founded the Hasidic sect in the 18th century. A mystic and kabbalist whose teachings emphasized the importance of joy and direct connection with God, Eliezer was reported to “pray ecstatically,” make medicines from wild grasses and barks, and smoke from a water pipe which he claimed produced aliyat neshama (ascension of the soul). In fact, his biographer once said, “he would give his entire portion in this world, Hasidism and in the world to come, founder Baal just for a taste of what the Shem Tov. Ba’al Shem Tov got from his pipe.” MOROCCAN MERCHANTS Though it’s always been claimed it was tobacco that Eliezer was smoking, it’s certainly possible there was some hashish sprinkled in. After all, Jews were among the biggest tobacco and hash merchants in the Middle East at the time. Yiddish translation of When Morocco became “Hashish” (1911). one of the world’s largest YIVO LIBRARY producers of hashish in the 17th century, it was the Jews who brokered most of the export deals between the farmers in the Rif Mountains and the Arabic-speaking city dwellers. “The Jews, in general, did not grow Cannabis … but they received a monopoly from the king for the sale of tobacco in Morocco, and that included sales of the Cannabis plant and the hashish produced from it,” explained Moroccan Jewry expert Dr. Doron Danino in a 2019 interview with the Times of Israel. “Jews used to speak several languages, and they had a business sense, which made it a mutually beneficial partnership.” According to Dr. Danino, some Jews were even sprinkling hash into their shakshuka dalashubh — a couscous dish served as part of their preparation for celebrations and events.
FROM RABBIS TO RADICALS During the rise of America’s counterculture, Jews were consistently at the forefront of Cannabis activism. Jazz musician Mezz Mezzrow, aka the Muggles King, was Louis Armstrong’s reefer dealer and one of the plant’s earliest public advocates. It was allegedly Mezzrow who first turned on Beatnik icon Allen Ginsburg, who later “Am Yisrael High” exhibit poster co-founded America’s first featuring Allen Ginsberg. marijuana legalization advocacy group LeMar in 1964 and led the first pro-marijuana march in New York’s Lower East Side. Ginsberg, in turn, helped mentor the Yippies in the late ’60s, most of whose prominent members (Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, A.J. Weberman and Aron “Pie Man” Kay) were also Jews. Even President Richard Nixon acknowledged the connection between Jews and Cannabis in his infamous 1971 racist Oval Office recording: “You know, it’s a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana are Jewish.” In addition to activism, Jews have also led the way in Cannabis science via Israeli scientist Dr. Raphael Mechoulam – considered the “father of Cannabis research” for discovering THC, CBD and the endocannabinoid system in the 1960s – as well as the “godfather of medical marijuana,” Harvard professor/psychiatrist Dr. Lester Grinspoon. Other prominent Jewish marijuana advocates have included “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” author Jack Herer, grow guru Ed Rosenthal, and Drug Policy Alliance founder Ethan Nadelmann, among many others. EDUARD GUREVICH
Despite the similarity in phonetics, it wasn’t until 1936 that a Polish etymologist named Sula Benet first put forth the theory that kaneh bosem might be Cannabis. In her paper “Early Diffusion and Folk Uses of Hemp,” Benet argued that, after analyzing numerous ancient texts and comparative etymologies, she was convinced that the term had been mistranslated – explaining that the root “kan” actually translated to “hemp” and bosem meant “aromatic.” If Benet’s theory were correct, it would mean that ancient Jews not only used Cannabis as a textile, but also in their religious ceremonies – a hypothesis recently borne out by archeological evidence. Sula Benet (1936).
MODERN MITZVAH So, where does Jewish religious leadership stand on Cannabis in the modern age? Though it was declared forbidden under Jewish law by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein in 1973, that stance has since softened significantly. In 2013, Rabbi Efraim Zalmanovich stated that Cannabis was permitted for medical use and three years later, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky ruled that it could be consumed during Passover. Since then, several brands have been certified as Kosher by the Orthodox Union, including Vireo, Mitzvah Herbal, and Mazel Tov Farms (who co-sponsored the YIVO exhibit). “There is no question that the plant has a holy source, God himself,” says Glassman. “Marijuana usage…is an aspect of Jewish law and tradition that had long been buried, and one that deserves resurfacing and exploration.” For our podcast & more Cannabis history content visit worldofcannabis.museum/cannthropology.
STO RY b y B O B BY B LAC K @ CAN N T H RO PO LO G Y for LEA F NAT IO N
stoney baloney LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
78
NO MATTER HOW WELL you take care of your body, gravity will eventually pull you back to earth to be reclaimed by the soil. And although very smart people on this planet have developed stunning scientific methods to prolong the everlasting blink, when your train is whistling into the station, you’ll need to politely disembark to clear space for new passengers. This is the end of the line – no pill, no surgery – and no more birthdays. But you can’t be mad. Being atop the food chain doesn’t mean you live forever – just that you live well, longer. In fact, you’ll most likely dwell here about five times longer than the average caveperson ever did, so be grateful that you don’t have to be worried about being eaten by a razor-toothed land shark. That poor hairy dude didn’t have a gun, a car, or an electric razor … much less a Home Depot. Yes, there are clams that live over 500 years and there are some trees that live thousands of years. But for you, large brain or not, 120 loops around the glowing orb are what you get – give or take a decade or 10 depending on how well you attract lightning. And that’s a generous estimation, mostly reserved for women living on some isolated island in Japan or Italy with simple diets and a daily glass of vino, sequestered from our instant gratification society of processed foods and secondhand smoke. So, there’s no denying that some people have temporarily circumvented death. But just as there are clever roundabouts and shortcuts en route to your final destination, the tick of the almighty timepiece will eventually come to a halt. And when that clock finally stops, let’s hope it gets stuck on 4:20. After all, the best way to go is up in smoke.
june 2022
FOLLOW @RICKERDJ // GET THE AUDIO VERSION & EVERY EPISODE AT LEAFMAGAZINES.COM
All Things Cannabis For All People beardedlorax rickerdj stashleylynn maaryjwhite
PODCAST
171
#
THIS MONTH: #169 SHAMANIC HEALING #170 THE PLASTIC SHOW #172 WOOD PIPES
leaflifepodcast
RSO
LISTEN EVERYWHERE THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
Marijuana products may be purchased or possessed only by persons 21 or older. This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit-forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults 21 and older. Keep out of reach of children.
WATCH ON LEAF LIFE PODCAST V2
Keep up with cannabis Find local deals, products, and reviews
Visit weedmaps.com or download the app
